GLAAD issued the following response to the Angie Zapata verdict yesterday:The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today responded to the verdict in the murder case of Angie Zapata. Angie was a transgender woman who was brutally murdered in 2008. Today the Colorado jury found Allen Andrade guilty on four counts including first-degree murder and hate crime charges.
"Today's verdict was about justice for Angie Zapata, although no verdict will ever be able to heal the tragic loss experienced by Angie's family," said Neil G. Giuliano, President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
"The past few months have offered Greeley residents, as well as people throughout Colorado and across the nation, an opportunity to better understand transgender lives and the horrifying reality of anti-transgender violence. Media coverage of this case has played a vital role in broadening that understanding, and it has helped more people understand the importance of a fully inclusive hate crime law like Colorado's."
GLAAD Media Field Strategist Adam Bass has been on the ground throughout the trial in Greeley, Colo., assisting state and local LGBT leaders including the Colorado Anti-Violence Program, the Gender Identity Center of Colorado, and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Colorado in providing resources to media outlets covering the trial. GLAAD was also on the ground following the murder to ensure fair and accurate media coverage and focus media attention on anti-transgender violence.
