The family of Tayy Dior Thomas hopes that the 17-year-old’s shooting death in Mobile last month will prompt a revision in Alabama’s hate crimes statute.
On May 7, Thomas was shot and died on Darwood Drive in Mobile.
According to family members, Thomas, a transgender woman, was killed by her romantic partner out of fear that their relationship would be uncovered.
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Carl Mitchell Washington, Jr., was arrested and charged in Thomas’ death. He is being held without bond at Mobile Metro Jail on accusations of murder and shooting a weapon into an occupied car, according to court documents.
Washington reportedly fired 18 rounds into Thomas’ vehicle, according to court papers.
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Mobile police said they responded to a complaint of shots fired at 3:30 a.m. on May 7. When police came, they found a vehicle that had slammed into a house, with Thomas dead in the front yard.
The preliminary hearing is slated for June 17.
Rolanda Carl, Thomas’ grandmother, described her as a lovely and generous lady who adored children and was always eager to watch her four younger siblings or cousins.
“That is the aspect of her personality that I most appreciate. “She was a giving person,” Carl stated. “That trusting and loving nature got her killed.”
According to Carl, Thomas and Washington had been in a relationship for over a year but kept it a secret.
Carl believes Washington killed Thomas because he realized their relationship could be exposed. “When [her family] went to see [her] at the funeral home, (Thomas) still had the dried-up tear marks on [her] face,” Carl recalled. “I want [Washington] to have enough time in there to think about what he’s done, to have some sense of empathy and remorse.”
Carl says she hopes Thomas’ death would garner national attention and result in legislative changes that would allow Washington to face prosecution under state hate crime law.
According to the NAACP, Alabama’s hate crime statute does not increase the punishment for acts motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity.
According to a 2023 study conducted by the Human Rights Campaign, a major LGBTQ advocacy organization, more than 20% of transgender and gender-expansive victims with known murders were slain by a romantic, sexual, or intimate relationship.
According to HRC, Thomas was the sixth transgender or gender-expansive person killed in the United States between April and May of this year.
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Court records utilized Thomas’ deceased name, and initial press reports, including one from AL.com, misgendered him. AL.com’s initial article was based on a police statement that identified the victim as a male but did not include Thomas’ deceased name.
Police did not provide Thomas’ identity during AL.com’s initial article because the victim’s family had not yet been notified, according to a police spokeswoman on May 7.
Washington has pled not guilty.
Washington attorneys did not reply to calls for comment by the deadline for publication.