First in U.S. judiciary system. Killer of transgender woman sentenced under hate crime law

The killer of a 17-year-old transgender woman in Mississippi was recently sentenced under a 2009 hate crime law, setting an important precedent. The 49-year sentence was a result of a federal prosecution into violence directed at the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community.

Joshua Vallum, who was a local ‘enforcer’ and a national secretary of the Almighty Latin Kings and Queens Nation gang, was sentenced in May to 49 years in federal prison under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. The prison term is in addition to the life sentence he received in Mississippi for killing 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson in 2015. Vallum admitted that he killed Williamson because she was transgender.

According to the FBI, investigators quickly determined that then-27-year-old Vallum likely killed Williamson because she was transgender. The two met through social media in 2014 and had a sexual relationship for several months. According to the gang, that made Vallum a homosexual, a violation of gang rules that meant he could be killed on sight. Vallum stopped seeing Williamson, but another gang member confronted him, Lorrain said. At that point, Vallum had two options: he could flee or save face with the gang by killing Williamson.

“Vallum told the other guy he would ‘handle the business,’ FBI Special Agent Jerome Lorrain, who coordinates task force members from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, said.

On May 30, 2015, Vallum drove to Alabama to find Williamson and convinced her to get in his car. They drove to his father’s house in Lucedale, Mississippi, and he brutally attacked her, stabbing her with a knife and beating her with a hammer. His family called local police after Vallum entered the house covered in blood. Responding officers found Williamson’s body in the woods and later contacted the FBI.

Vallum told gang members about the killing the next day. He lied and said he didn’t know Williamson was a male until they became intimate, and then he snapped and killed her in a fit of rage. Vallum later told Task Force Officer Jonathan Carroll the same story in an interview, shortly after he surrendered to law enforcement.

“It was a horrible murder,” FBI’s Jerome Lorrain said.

In the midst of the investigation, Lorrain’s supervisor attended a conference on identifying hate crimes and victims’ rights. Two civil rights attorneys from the Department of Justice presented an overview of the Shepard-Byrd Act. Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Rachel Byrd recognized the possibility for federal prosecution and approached the attorneys.

Vallum found himself facing state murder charges and the federal hate crime charge. In light of overwhelming evidence, he pleaded guilty in state court in 2016, and was sentenced to life in prison. He later pleaded guilty to the hate crime.

FBI Agent Lorrain says the federal plea and sentencing for under the hate crime law is important, as the entire story about why Vallum killed Williamson wasn’t public until he was charged at the federal level.

“And now there is a precedent for future cases. There have been reports of a number of crimes against transgender people,” Lorrain concluded.

The successful federal prosecution of Vallum could help other transgender victims gets justice, as some states do not have hate crime statutes that protect people from bias based on gender identity.

Vallum will serve at least 49 years in federal prison, regardless of any early release he may be granted on his state sentence.