Q&A: Murray Wells,
attorney for transgender murder victim Duanna Johnson
Last summer, transgender woman Duanna Johnson was the victim of a
beating by a Memphis police officer inside the Shelby County Jail. One
evening last week, she became the victim of murder.
Johnson’s body was discovered near the corner of Hollywood and
Staten in North Memphis. Police say she was shot in the head, and
witnesses claim to have seen three men running from the scene, but no
suspects have been arrested.
Prior to her death, Johnson was suing the city for $1.3 million.
Though she lived to see officers Bridges McRae and James Swain fired
from the police department, the case was on hold pending possible
criminal indictments against the officers.
Her attorney, Murray Wells, spoke with Johnson the day she was
killed. — by Bianca Phillips
Flyer: What did
you and Johnson talk about the last time you spoke?
Wells: I knew she was going through a tough time. I suggested
she go home [to Wisconsin] where her mother was. Duanna was living in a
house with no power. She had no money. I told her I’d buy her a bus
ticket and give her some money to get there. She called on Sunday and
said she was ready to go.
What was life like for her?
Because of who she was, she
wasn’t able to work. People wouldn’t accept her. There were two faces:
the side of her that was funny and warm and the other side that was
tension and frustration.
Johnson’s birth name was Duannell, but
Memphis police called her Dwayne in their statement about the homicide.
They also called her Dwayne after video of her being beaten at the jail
was leaked.
I’m pretty offended by the insensitivity of the Memphis Police
Department. The very onset of the beating of Duanna was precipitated by
them failing and refusing to call her by her name. They’ve never
acknowledged that her name was Duannell or Duanna.
I find it offensive that, with the city taking all these steps to
assure the public of how open-minded they are, they would release a
press statement that called her Dwayne and called her a
male.
What will happen with the lawsuit against the city?
Our intention is not to walk away from the situation. We think harm
occurred, and someone needs to be held responsible. We think the
lawsuit can still be an effective mechanism to promote policy change in
law enforcement.
The only remedy we’ll be able to get is a finding that [the police
department is] guilty, and the only punishment we can get is monetary
damages. The theory is, you make it sting bad enough, and it’ll never
happen again.
If you win damages, who would get the money?
An estate will be opened up for Duanna, and someone will have to
administer her estate. I suspect that would be her mother.
Were
the officers who beat Duanna criminally charged?
We expect that McRae will be criminally indicted and will face
prison time.
Do you think Duanna’s gender identity had anything
to do with her murder?
Regardless of who did it or why they did it, she was where she was
that night because she had no other place to go. I think being
transgender made it hard for her to live a normal life in terms of
employment and relationships. Many people think that being transgender
was a choice Duanna made for herself, but it was not.