Jury Finds Gleaves Guilty of 2nd Degree Manslaughter in Murder of Transgender Victim, Papi Edwards

(Louisville, KY - August 11, 2016) After six hours of deliberation, a jury has found Henry Richard Gleaves, II guilty of Second Degree Manslaughter in the shooting death of Papi Edwards, who presented as a transgender female the morning she was shot by Gleaves at the Fern Valley Hotel in Louisville January 9, 2015. The jury had the option to find Gleaves guilty of more serious offenses, including Intentional Murder, First Degree Manslaughter, and First Degree Manslaughter with the Intent to Injure. The jury also found Gleaves guilty of Tampering with Evidence for instructing his then-girlfriend to dispose of his cell phone from jail.

The prosecution, led by Assistant Commonwealth Attorney John Balenovich and the defense, led by Rob Eggert, agreed to seven years for Second Degree Manslaughter and five years for Tampering with Evidence. Gleaves was remanded to the custody of the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections immediately upon the court's ruling.

"This is a tremendous disappointment and miscarriage of justice," shared Fairness Campaign director Chris Hartman. "Were Papi Edwards not transgender, she would still be alive today. The evidence presented over the nine-day trial clearly proved that Gleaves was angered when he discovered Edwards was not biologically female, made an intentional decision to go to his car, obtain a gun, pursue Papi Edwards and her friends, wait for Papi Edwards to come within his range, and shoot her. Unfortunately, transgender prejudice persists, and it has led to a more lenient sentence for Gleaves."


Founded in 1991, the Fairness Campaign is Kentucky's broad-based community effort dedicated to equal rights for lesbian gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Its primary goal is comprehensive civil rights legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to dismantle systemic racism.

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