| Amber McLaughlin | |
| Birth Date: | 13 January 1973 |
| Death Place: | Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, Bonne Terre, Missouri, U.S. |
| Death Cause: | Execution by lethal injection |
| Conviction: | First degree murder Forcible rape Sexual assault Armed criminal action |
| Criminal Penalty: | Death (2006) |
| Victims: | Beverly Guenther, 45 |
| Birth Name: | Scott A. McLaughlin |
| Birth Place: | Missouri, United States |
| Date: | November 20, 2003 |
Amber McLaughlin (January 13, 1973 – January 3, 2023) was an American transgender woman executed in Missouri for the 2003 rape and murder of her ex-girlfriend, Beverly Guenther. At the time of the crime, McLaughlin was living as male; she transitioned from male to female while incarcerated.[1] McLaughlin became the first openly transgender person to be executed in the United States.[2] [3] Her legal name remained her birth name, Scott A. McLaughlin, and she was identified as such in her death warrant and in prison records.[4]
McLaughlin was a registered sex offender because of a 1992 conviction for sexual assault against a 14-year-old girl.
At McLaughlin's 2006 trial, the jury was deadlocked on the issue of the death penalty.[5] In most U.S. states, this would result in a sentence of life imprisonment. However, Missouri is one of only two states (the other being Indiana) in which a judge has the discretion to sentence a defendant to death if the jury is deadlocked on the issue of capital punishment.[6]
In August 2021, McLaughlin's sentence was reinstated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.[7] [8] On January 3, 2023, McLaughlin was executed by the state.[9]