'Boys Don't Cry' killer loses appeal
The man on death row for the murder that inspired the film Boys Don’t Cry will not get a new trial or a reduced sentence, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled.
John Lotter was convicted of murdering a 21-year-old born as a woman but who lived as a man. He is awaiting execution by electric chair.
His lawyer argued that Lotter’s sentence should be reduced because of a Supreme Court ruling calling for juries – not judges – to decide when the death penalty is warranted.
Nebraska’s high court said that ruling didn’t apply retroactively to Lotter, who was also convicted of killing two other people.
Lotter and another man were convicted of killing Brandon Teena, who was born a woman with the name Teena Brandon, but lived as a man in south-east Nebraska.
Prosecutors said Teena was killed because he told the local sheriff he was raped by the pair after they discovered his biological identity.
The killings outraged gay activists and inspired the 1999 film Boys Don’t Cry which earned an Oscar for Hillary Swank who played Teena.
