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Crossdresser stabbed in “gay panic”
A Fresno man who pleaded guilty to stabbing another man to death was suffering from “gay panic,” his lawyers argued before a judge, who gave the defendant the minimum sentence – four years in jail.
Estanislao Martinez admitted stabbing Joel Robles 20 times after finding out the victim, who he had brought home, was not a woman, but a cross-dressing man.
On Wednesday, a Fresno County Superior Court judge handed down the sentence, which gay and lesbian activists said was too light, and didn’t fit the crime.
“If I just stole money from you, I’d serve more time than this person did for stabbing someone 20 times,” said Charlotte Jenks, executive director of the Central California Pride Network.
Martinez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for killing Robles last August. After stabbing the victim, he jumped out of an apartment window, and was found wandering naked along Highway 41, according to court testimony.
Martinez’s attorneys argued in Fresno County Superior Court their client panicked and became enraged when he found out Robles was a transvestite.
Legal experts said using the “gay panic” defense helped reduce the sentence in this case.
“I think it is because most people, when they’re going to have a relationship with someone, expect it to be the opposite sex. I think when you find out it’s not, all kinds of things run through your mind,” said defense expert Ernest Kinney.
The prosecutor refused to comment on the case.
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