Defense: Colo. slaying because of deception

[WillParkinson]

Defense: Colo. slaying because of deception
By The Associated Press
04.17.2009 9:29am EDT

(Greeley, Colorado) A man accused of beating an 18-year-old transgendered woman to death with a fire extinguisher “snapped” after finding out the teen was biologically male, a defense lawyer argued Thursday as the murder trial began.

But a prosecutor contended Allen Andrade knew Angie Zapata’s secret for at least 36 hours before the slaying - and killed her not in a sudden rage but because he disliked gays and transgenders.

Andrade, 32, would face a mandatory life sentence if convicted of first-degree murder and between eight and 24 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. Other charges against him include bias-motivated crime, which carries three more years, and habitual offender, which could mean decades more in prison.

Andrade’s attorney, Bradley Martin, said the case is about Zapata’s deception and his client’s reaction to that deception.

“This girl that he had just spent the last day with, was in fact a man, and Allen snapped,” Martin declared in opening statements.

Prosecutor Brandi Nieto told jurors that Andrade and Zapata communicated nearly 700 times via text message, cell phone and computer between July 12 and July 16 as Zapata was apparently searching for a roommate. She said Andrade did not make a snap decision but rather decided to kill Zapata after the pair spent hours in Zapata’s tiny one-bedroom apartment.

http://www.365gay.com/news/defense-colo-slaying-because-of-deception/

[get the red out]

1. So, it's ok to kill someone

as long as you say "I snapped"?

[joeybee12]

2. Ah, the twinkie defense lives on! n/t

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. Twinkie defense? nt

[joeybee12]

5. The guy who killed Harvey Milk (Dan Something) used this as his

defense, he was tired, ate too many twinkies, and that led him to be irrational.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. I know the argument - just don't see it in this case.

(Not that I ever really believed Dan White either, but that's beside the point.)

They tried to argue that living on junk food for so long had corrupted his brain chemistry, causing temporary insanity. This guy is arguing that the shock of the discovery made him snap.

It is an entirely different nonsensical defense.

[joeybee12]

7. The similarity I see is that the underlying premise is that the murderer

is not responsible for his actions.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. 'Snapped' moves it from 1st degree to 2nd degree murder.

20 years, and parole, rather than life w/o parole. Of course he's going to try for it.

He has my hopes for total failure, and life w/o parole.

[S n o w b a l l]

8. They're showing this trial live on TruTV right now...

Started this morning. They're on a lunch break right now but will resume shortly.

[mitchtv]

9. common problem if you're trans

a death sentence, and none for the perp