Joseph Pemberton, a U.S. Marine, has been sentenced to 6-12 years in prison for the murder of Jennifer Laude, a transgender Filipina woman, whom he invited to his hotel room. Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton, who is currently being held at a Philippine military camp, has been ordered to pay Laude’s family $98,000 in damages.
U.S. Marine Joseph Pemberton will be spending 6 to 12 years behind bars for the brutal murder of Jennifer Laude, a transgender woman, who was supposed to spend the night with him.
On Tuesday, the year-long trial of Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton in the Philippines came to end, and he was convicted of killing Jennifer Laude, a sex worker, formerly known as Jeffrey. Pemberton, who was convicted of homicide, has been sentenced to 6-12 years in prison, but credited with time already spent locked up in a Philippine military camp.
The U.S. Marine has been imprisoned in a compound at Philippine military headquarters guarded by U.S. Marine. Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton, who has been incarcerated for almost a year, has also been ordered by the judge to pay Laude’s family $98,000.
In October of 2014, Pemberton and several other colleagues including Marine Lance Corporal Jairn Michael Rose took a group of women to a motel in Olongapo city, northwest of Manila. While in his room with Laude, Pemberton discovered that the individual had male parts.
Pemberton, a skilled boxer, choked Laude until she stopped breathing, then dragged her into the bathroom, strangled and drowned her in a toilet bowl. The anti-tank missile operator from New Bedford, Massachusetts returned to base and confessed to Rose: “I think I killed a he/she.”
After the verdict was read, Laude’s mother, Julita, cried and told reporters that Pemberton should have been convicted of homicide, and he needed to spend the rest of his life in prison. Julita revealed:
“But the important thing is he will be jailed. My son’s life is not wasted.”
Harry Roque, the family’s attorney gave a brief statement:
“This is a bittersweet victory because it is not murder, if what he did isn’t cruelty, I don’t know what is.”
Dozens of left-wing and transgender groups that were hoping to have the attack labelled as a hate crime were outside of the courtroom cheering the verdict. They also burned an effigy of Uncle Sam while screaming “Justice for Jennifer!”
Roque has demanded that Pemberton serve his time in an ordinary jail.
