A US Marine convicted of killing a transgender woman in a case that sparked anger over the US military’s presence in the Philippines today lost an appeal.
Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton was sentenced to up to 10 years in jail after being found guilty of homicide over the 2014 death of Jennifer Laude in a motel room in Olongapo City, north-west of Manila.
Pemberton had told the court he acted in self-defence after he discovered the person giving him oral sex in a hotel was a transgender woman.
Today the Court of Appeals said they did not accept his claim of self-defence, confirming the lower court’s conviction in 2015.
The Laude family’s private lawyer Rep. Harry Roque said "the fact that a member of the U.S. Marines was found guilty for breach of our criminal laws for the very first time is an affirmation of Philippine sovereignty."
Pemberton must pay Laude's heirs more than £70,000.
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