The acquittal of a man charged in the 2018 killing of Dejanay Stanton has renewed calls for accountability and greater protections for Chicago’s Black transgender community.
A Cook County jury on Oct. 23 found Tremon Hill, 25, not guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Stanton, a 24-year-old Black transgender woman who was fatally shot in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood on Aug. 30, 2018.
The verdict comes more than eight years after Stanton’s killing sparked protests and demands for justice from Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community. Local transgender advocates said the outcome raises troubling questions about the criminal justice system’s ability to hold people accountable for violence against Black trans women.
Channyn Lynne Parker, CEO of Equality Illinois and a longtime transgender advocate who joined calls for justice in 2018, said she was shocked by the verdict.
“This is a message being sent out that your safety, your body and above all, your justice is not a priority for us,” Parker said.
Parker said advocates are planning a gathering this week to renew demands for justice, building on demonstrations held after Stanton’s death in 2018. She urged community members to attend and show their support for Stanton’s family.
“We respect the justice system. We respect juries, and we respect judges,” Parker said. “However, we entrust judges and juries with our justice, and that did not happen.”
Justice Wyatt, intake coordinator at Brave Space Alliance, a trans-led community center on the South Side, said the verdict reflects broader concerns about the safety and treatment of Black transgender women.
“How are we expected to thrive and live authentically when we are faced with unnecessary violence and systemic oppression?” Wyatt said.
Wyatt said Black transgender women face not only violence but also systemic discrimination that leaves them feeling unprotected. She called on Chicago police to undergo cultural competency training and approach Black transgender residents with greater compassion. She also urged the broader Black community to challenge prejudice and create spaces where transgender people feel safe and accepted.
Zahara Bassett, president and CEO of Life Is Work, condemned the verdict but emphasized that Stanton should be remembered for more than the circumstances of her death.
“Her life should never be reduced to a case, a verdict or another headline,” Bassett said.
Bassett called for greater accountability and meaningful action to protect Black transgender women, emphasizing that honoring Stanton’s memory must go beyond expressions of grief and outrage.
The Cook County state’s attorney’s office expressed disappointment with the verdict, defending its prosecution of Hill.
“While we are disappointed with the verdict, our office prosecuted this case to the fullest extent to seek justice for Dejanay Stanton,” the office said in a statement to Windy City Times.
Prosecutors alleged Hill killed Stanton because he feared their relationship would become public. During the trial, they relied heavily on cellphone records and text messages they said linked Hill to Stanton in the hours before her death, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Hill’s defense attorneys argued that prosecutors had no eyewitnesses or physical evidence tying him to the shooting. They emphasized that Hill’s fingerprints were not found on Stanton’s car and his DNA was not found on her body, the Tribune reported.
At an October 2018 demonstration outside Chicago Police Department headquarters, Stanton’s mother, Valerie Griffin, joined advocates in calling for progress in the investigations of her daughter’s killing and that of Ciara Minaj Carter Frazier, another Black transgender woman killed that year, Windy City Times reported at the time.
Stanton’s family and friends have continued honoring her memory in the years since her death. In a 2021 Windy City Times profile, her brother, Darius Stanton, remembered her infectious laugh, love of fashion and generosity toward others. He recalled how she helped neighbors and cared for their mother, who was frequently ill.
Griffin has also organized annual gatherings to celebrate her daughter’s life and raise awareness about violence against transgender people. At a 2020 memorial event, Griffin vowed to continue honoring her daughter every year on the anniversary of her death.
Parker said several of Stanton’s friends contacted her after the verdict, struggling to understand the outcome.
“Dejanay was a light,” Parker said. “She was a young person full of ideas and dreams. She had aspirations, and she was loved.”