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|parents = Patrick and JoAnn Brandon
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'''Brandon Teena''' (December 12, 1972 – December 31, 1993) was an American [[trans man]], a female to male transgender person, who was [[rape]]d and [[murder]]ed in [[Humboldt, Nebraska]].<ref name="nameissues">Note: - as Brandon Teena was never his legal name, it is uncertain the extent to which this name was used prior to his death. It is the name most commonly used by the press and other media. Other names may include his legal name, as well as "Billy Brenson" and "Teena Ray"</ref><ref name="8thcircuit">{{cite web |url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=8th&navby=docket&no=973708p |title=U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals &mdash; JoAnn Brandon v Charles B. Laux|accessdate=2006-12-07 |publisher=[[FindLaw]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2000/03/brandon.html|title=Boys Do Cry|author=Howey, Noelle|date=2000-03-22|accessdate=2006-12-07 |publisher=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]}}</ref> His life and death were the subject of the [[Academy Award]]-winning 1999 film ''[[Boys Don't Cry (film)|Boys Don't Cry]]'', which was based on the [[documentary film]] ''The Brandon Teena Story''.
'''Brandon Teena''' (December 12, 1972 – December 31, 1993) was an American [[trans man]], a female to male transgender person, who was [[rape]]d and [[murder]]ed in [[Humboldt, Nebraska]].<ref name="nameissues">Note: - as Brandon Teena was never her legal name, it is uncertain the extent to which this name was used prior to her death. It is the name most commonly used by the press and other media. Other names may include her legal name, as well as "Billy Brenson" and "Teena Ray"</ref><ref name="8thcircuit">{{cite web |url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=8th&navby=docket&no=973708p |title=U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals &mdash; JoAnn Brandon v Charles B. Laux|accessdate=2006-12-07 |publisher=[[FindLaw]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2000/03/brandon.html|title=Boys Do Cry|author=Howey, Noelle|date=2000-03-22|accessdate=2006-12-07 |publisher=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]}}</ref> Her life and death were the subject of the [[Academy Award]]-winning 1999 film ''[[Boys Don't Cry (film)|Boys Don't Cry]]'', which was based on the [[documentary film]] ''The Brandon Teena Story''.


==Life==
==Life==
Teena was born '''Teena Renae Brandon''' in [[Lincoln, Nebraska]], the younger of two children to Patrick and JoAnn Brandon. His father died in a car accident eight months before he was born, and he was raised by his mother.<ref name="deceiver"/> JoAnn named her second child after their [[German shepherd]] dog, Tina Marie.<ref name="deceiver">[http://course1.winona.edu/pjohnson/h140/boysstory.htm Death of a Deceiver] from January 1995 edition of ''[[Playboy]]''</ref> Teena and his older sister Tammy lived with their maternal grandmother in Lincoln, before they were reclaimed by their mother when Teena was three years old and Tammy was six years old. The family resided in the Pine Acre Mobile Home Park in northeast Lincoln, and JoAnn worked as a clerk in a women's retail store in Lincoln to support the family. As young children, Teena and Tammy were sexually abused by their uncle for several years,<ref name="deceiver"/><ref>[http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=WZlDpR0L3gwC&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=%22joann+brandon%22+%2B%22male+relative%22&source=bl&ots=QePSXfp7pj&sig=cB8-fDJBV9z8Lc1P5-Y8bvvwZdU&hl=en&ei=MouwS6CEOdCIkAWGwOWRDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22joann%20brandon%22%20%2B%22male%20relative%22&f=false Sloop, John ''Rhetorics of sex identity in contemporary U.S. culture'', page 77] at Google Books</ref> and Teena and his mother JoAnn sought counselling for this in 1991.<ref>[http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/boysdontcry.php Chasing the Frog.com]</ref> JoAnn remarried once from 1975 to 1980, with the marriage having failed due to her husband's alcoholism.<ref name="deceiver"/> Teena's family described him as being a [[tomboy]] since early childhood; Teena began identifying as male during adolescence and dated a female student during this period. His mother rejected his male identity and continued referring to him as her "daughter". On several occasions Teena claimed to be [[intersex]] though this assertion was later dispoved.<ref name="trutv" />
Teena was born '''Teena Renae Brandon''' in [[Lincoln, Nebraska]], the younger of two children to Patrick and JoAnn Brandon. Her father died in a car accident eight months before she was born, and she was raised by her mother.<ref name="deceiver"/> JoAnn named her second child after their [[German shepherd]] dog, Tina Marie.<ref name="deceiver">[http://course1.winona.edu/pjohnson/h140/boysstory.htm Death of a Deceiver] from January 1995 edition of ''[[Playboy]]''</ref> Teena and her older sister Tammy lived with their maternal grandmother in Lincoln, before they were reclaimed by their mother when Teena was three years old and Tammy was six years old. The family resided in the Pine Acre Mobile Home Park in northeast Lincoln, and JoAnn worked as a clerk in a women's retail store in Lincoln to support the family. As young children, Teena and Tammy were sexually abused by their uncle for several years,<ref name="deceiver"/><ref>[http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=WZlDpR0L3gwC&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=%22joann+brandon%22+%2B%22male+relative%22&source=bl&ots=QePSXfp7pj&sig=cB8-fDJBV9z8Lc1P5-Y8bvvwZdU&hl=en&ei=MouwS6CEOdCIkAWGwOWRDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22joann%20brandon%22%20%2B%22male%20relative%22&f=false Sloop, John ''Rhetorics of sex identity in contemporary U.S. culture'', page 77] at Google Books</ref> and Teena and her mother JoAnn sought counselling for this in 1991.<ref>[http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/boysdontcry.php Chasing the Frog.com]</ref> JoAnn remarried once from 1975 to 1980, with the marriage having failed due to her husband's alcoholism.<ref name="deceiver"/> Teena's family described her as being a [[tomboy]] since early childhood; Teena began identifying as male during adolescence and dated a female student during this period. Her mother rejected her male identity and continued referring to Teena as her "daughter", which she was. On several occasions Teena claimed to be [[intersex]] though this assertion was later dispoved.<ref name="trutv" />


Teena and his sister attended St. Mary's Elementary School and [[Pius X High School (Nebraska)|Pius X High School]] in Lincoln, where Teena was remembered as being socially awkward.<ref name="deceiver"/> During his sophomore year, Teena rejected [[Christianity]] after he protested to a priest at Pius X regarding Christian views on [[abstinence]] and [[Christianity and homosexuality|homosexuality]].<ref name="deceiver"/> He also began rebelling at school by violating the school dress-code policy to dress more masculine. During the first semester of his senior year, a U.S. Army recruiter visited the high school, encouraging students to enlist in the armed forces. Teena enlisted in the [[United States Army]] shortly after his eighteenth birthday, and hoped to serve a [[tour of duty]] in [[Gulf_War#Operation_Desert_Shield|Operation Desert Shield]]. However, he failed the written entrance exam by claiming to be male.<ref name="deceiver"/>
Teena and her sister attended St. Mary's Elementary School and [[Pius X High School (Nebraska)|Pius X High School]] in Lincoln, where Teena was remembered as being socially awkward.<ref name="deceiver"/> During her sophomore year, Teena rejected [[Christianity]] after she protested to a priest at Pius X regarding Christian views on [[abstinence]] and [[Christianity and homosexuality|homosexuality]].<ref name="deceiver"/> She also began rebelling at school by violating the school dress-code policy to dress more masculine. During the first semester of her senior year, a U.S. Army recruiter visited the high school, encouraging students to enlist in the armed forces. Teena enlisted in the [[United States Army]] shortly after her eighteenth birthday, and hoped to serve a [[tour of duty]] in [[Gulf_War#Operation_Desert_Shield|Operation Desert Shield]]. However, she failed the written entrance exam by claiming to be male.<ref name="deceiver"/>


In December 1990, Teena went to Holiday Skate Park with his friends, [[breast binding|binding his breasts]] in order to [[passing (gender)|pass]] as a boy. The 18-year-old Teena went on a date with a 13-year old girl, and they shared a passionate kiss. He also met the girl's 14-year-old friend, Heather,<ref name="deceiver"/> and began cross-dressing regularly in an attempt to attract teenage women. In the months nearing his high school graduation, Teena became unusually outgoing and was remembered by classmates as a "class clown".<ref name="deceiver"/> Teena also began skipping school and receiving failing grades, and was expelled from Pius X High School in June 1991, three days before high school graduation.<ref name="deceiver"/>
In December 1990, Teena went to Holiday Skate Park with her friends, [[breast binding|binding her breasts]] in order to [[passing (gender)|pass]] as a boy. The 18-year-old Teena went on a date with a 13-year old girl, and they shared a passionate kiss, which is considered pedophilia under Nebraska law. She also met the girl's 14-year-old friend, Heather,<ref name="deceiver"/> and began cross-dressing regularly in an attempt to attract teenage women. In the months nearing her high school graduation, Teena became unusually outgoing and was remembered by classmates as a "class clown".<ref name="deceiver"/> Teena also began skipping school and receiving failing grades, and was expelled from Pius X High School in June 1991, three days before high school graduation.<ref name="deceiver"/>


In the summer of 1991, Teena began his first major relationship, with Heather. Shortly after, Teena was first employed as a gas station attendant in an attempt to purchase a trailer home for himself and his girlfriend. His mother, however, did not approve of the relationship, and convinced her daughter to follow Teena in order to know if the relationship was platonic or sexual.<ref name="deceiver"/>
In the summer of 1991, Teena began her first major relationship, with Heather. Shortly after, Teena was first employed as a gas station attendant in an attempt to purchase a trailer home for herself and her girlfriend. Her mother, however, did not approve of the relationship, and convinced her daughter to follow Teena in order to know if the relationship was platonic or sexual.<ref name="deceiver"/>


In January 1992 Teena underwent a [[psychiatric evaluation]], which concluded that Teena was suffering from a severe [[sexual identity]] crisis.<ref name="deceiver"/> He was later taken to the Lancaster County Crisis Center to ensure that he was not suicidal. Teena later confessed to his mother that he had been [[rape]]d by a male relative as a young child. He was released from the center three days later and began attending therapy sessions with his mother four times per week, which ended two weeks later.<ref name="deceiver"/>
In January 1992 Teena underwent a [[psychiatric evaluation]], which concluded that Teena was suffering from a severe [[sexual identity]] crisis.<ref name="deceiver"/> She was later taken to the Lancaster County Crisis Center to ensure that he was not suicidal. Teena later confessed to her mother that she had been [[rape|raped]] by a male relative as a young child. She was released from the center three days later and began attending therapy sessions with her mother four times per week, which ended two weeks later.<ref name="deceiver"/>


In 1993, after some legal trouble, Teena moved to the [[Falls City, Nebraska|Falls City]] region of [[Richardson County, Nebraska]], where he identified solely as a man. He became friends with several local residents. After moving into the home of Lisa Lambert, Teena began dating his friend 19-year-old Lana Tisdel, and began associating with ex-convicts John L. Lotter (born May 31, 1971) and Marvin Thomas "Tom" Nissen (born October 22, 1971).
In 1993, after some legal trouble, Teena moved to the [[Falls City, Nebraska|Falls City]] region of [[Richardson County, Nebraska]], where she identified solely as a man. She became friends with several local residents. After moving into the home of Lisa Lambert, Teena began dating her friend 19-year-old Lana Tisdel, and began associating with ex-convicts John L. Lotter (born May 31, 1971) and Marvin Thomas "Tom" Nissen (born October 22, 1971).


On December 19, 1993, Teena was arrested for [[forgery|forging]] checks; Tisdel paid his [[bail]]. Because Teena was in the female section of the jail, Tisdel learned that he was [[transgender]]. When Tisdel later questioned Teena about his [[gender]], he told her he was a [[Intersex|hermaphrodite]] pursuing a [[sex change operation]], and they continued dating.<ref name="trutv">{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/not_guilty/brandon/1.html|title=Teena Brandon|last=Ramsland|first=Katherine|publisher=[[TruTV]]|accessdate=2009-02-22}}</ref> In a lawsuit regarding the film adaptation ''[[Boys Don't Cry (film)|Boys Don't Cry]]'', this was disputed by Tisdel.<ref name="suntimes-filmlawsuit">{{cite news|title=Brandon film lawsuit settled|url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20000311/ai_n13848099|date=2000-03-11|archivedate=2007-10-16|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071016104201/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20000311/ai_n13848099|publisher=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|accessdate=2009-02-22}} {{Dead link|date=August 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref><ref name="age-doubles">{{cite news|url= http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/03/01/1014704987942.html|title= Seeing doubles |last= Hawker |first=Philippa|date=2002-03-01|publisher=[[The Age]]|accessdate=2009-02-22 | location=Melbourne}}</ref> Teena's arrest was posted in the local paper under his birth name and his acquaintances subsequently learned that he was anatomically female.
On December 19, 1993, Teena was arrested for [[forgery|forging]] checks; Tisdel paid her [[bail]]. Because Teena was in the female section of the jail, Tisdel learned that she was [[transgender]]. When Tisdel later questioned Teena about her [[gender]], Teena told her that she was a [[Intersex|hermaphrodite]] pursuing a [[sex change operation]], and they continued dating.<ref name="trutv">{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/not_guilty/brandon/1.html|title=Teena Brandon|last=Ramsland|first=Katherine|publisher=[[TruTV]]|accessdate=2009-02-22}}</ref> In a lawsuit regarding the film adaptation ''[[Boys Don't Cry (film)|Boys Don't Cry]]'', this was disputed by Tisdel.<ref name="suntimes-filmlawsuit">{{cite news|title=Brandon film lawsuit settled|url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20000311/ai_n13848099|date=2000-03-11|archivedate=2007-10-16|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071016104201/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20000311/ai_n13848099|publisher=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|accessdate=2009-02-22}} {{Dead link|date=August 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref><ref name="age-doubles">{{cite news|url= http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/03/01/1014704987942.html|title= Seeing doubles |last= Hawker |first=Philippa|date=2002-03-01|publisher=[[The Age]]|accessdate=2009-02-22 | location=Melbourne}}</ref> Teena's arrest was posted in the local paper under her birth name and her acquaintances subsequently learned that she was a female.


===Sexual assault and murder===
===Sexual assault and murder===
During a [[Christmas Eve]] party, Nissen and Lotter grabbed Teena and forced him to remove his pants, proving to Tisdel that Teena was anatomically female. Tisdel said nothing and looked only when they forced her to. Lotter and Nissen later assaulted Teena, and forced him into a car. They drove to an area by a meat-packing plant in Richardson County, where they assaulted and raped him. They then returned to Nissen's home. Teena escaped from Nissen's bathroom by climbing out the window, and went to Tisdel's house. He was convinced by Tisdel to file a police report, though Nissen and Lotter had warned Teena not to tell the police about the rape or they would "silence him permanently". Teena also went to the emergency room where a standard [[rape kit]] was assembled, and later lost. Sheriff Charles B. Laux questioned Teena about the rape; reportedly, he seemed especially interested in Teena's [[transsexual]]ity, to the point that Teena found his questions rude and unnecessary, and refused to answer. Nissen and Lotter learned of the report, and they began to search for Teena. They did not find him, and three days later the police questioned them. The sheriff declined to have them arrested due to lack of evidence.
During a [[Christmas Eve]] party, Nissen and Lotter grabbed Teena and forced her to remove her pants, proving to Tisdel that Teena was a female. Tisdel said nothing and looked only when they forced her to. Lotter and Nissen later assaulted Teena, and forced her into a car. They drove to an area by a meat-packing plant in Richardson County, where they assaulted and raped her. They then returned to Nissen's home. Teena escaped from Nissen's bathroom by climbing out the window, and went to Tisdel's house. She was convinced by Tisdel to file a police report, though Nissen and Lotter had warned Teena not to tell the police about the rape or they would "silence her permanently". Teena also went to the emergency room where a standard [[rape kit]] was assembled, and later lost. Sheriff Charles B. Laux questioned Teena about the rape; reportedly, he seemed especially interested in Teena's [[transsexual]]ity, to the point that Teena found his questions rude and unnecessary, and refused to answer. Nissen and Lotter learned of the report, and they began to search for Teena. They did not find her, and three days later the police questioned them. The sheriff declined to have them arrested due to lack of evidence.


Nissen and Lotter drove to Lambert’s house and broke in. They found Lambert in bed and demanded to know where Teena was. Lambert refused to tell them. Nissen searched and found Teena under the bed. The men asked Lambert if there was anyone else in the house, and she replied that Phillip DeVine, who at the time was dating Tisdel's sister,<ref name="trutv">{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/not_guilty/brandon/2.html|title=Teena Brandon|last=Ramsland|first=Katherine|publisher=[[TruTV]]|pages=5|accessdate=2010-0-15}}</ref> was staying with her. They shot and killed DeVine, Lambert, and Teena, in front of Lambert's toddler.<ref name="trutv5">{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/not_guilty/brandon/5.html|title=Teena Brandon|last=Ramsland|first=Katherine|publisher=[[TruTV]]|pages=5|accessdate=2009-02-22}}</ref> Nissen would later testify in court that he noticed that Teena was twitching, and asked Lotter for a knife, with which Nissen stabbed him, to ensure that he was dead.<ref>{{cite video|title = The Brandon Teena Story| people = Directed by Susan Muska and Gréta Olafsdóttir|medium=film|publisher=Bless Bless Productions|date=1998}}</ref><ref name=JournalStar>Beck, Margery A. [http://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_4327fe4b-4e1f-59ef-b3bb-a4939362bca3.html#ixzz1fQOwdMqH "Panel rejects death row inmate Lotter's appeal"]. ''[[Lincoln Journal Star]]''. August 24, 2011</ref> Nissen and Lotter then left, later being arrested and charged with murder.<ref name="trutv5"/>
Nissen and Lotter drove to Lambert’s house and broke in. They found Lambert in bed and demanded to know where Teena was. Lambert refused to tell them. Nissen searched and found Teena under the bed. The men asked Lambert if there was anyone else in the house, and she replied that Phillip DeVine, who at the time was dating Tisdel's sister,<ref name="trutv">{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/not_guilty/brandon/2.html|title=Teena Brandon|last=Ramsland|first=Katherine|publisher=[[TruTV]]|pages=5|accessdate=2010-0-15}}</ref> was staying with her. They shot and killed DeVine, Lambert, and Teena, in front of Lambert's toddler.<ref name="trutv5">{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/not_guilty/brandon/5.html|title=Teena Brandon|last=Ramsland|first=Katherine|publisher=[[TruTV]]|pages=5|accessdate=2009-02-22}}</ref> Nissen would later testify in court that he noticed that Teena was twitching, and asked Lotter for a knife, with which Nissen stabbed her, to ensure that she was dead.<ref>{{cite video|title = The Brandon Teena Story| people = Directed by Susan Muska and Gréta Olafsdóttir|medium=film|publisher=Bless Bless Productions|date=1998}}</ref><ref name=JournalStar>Beck, Margery A. [http://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_4327fe4b-4e1f-59ef-b3bb-a4939362bca3.html#ixzz1fQOwdMqH "Panel rejects death row inmate Lotter's appeal"]. ''[[Lincoln Journal Star]]''. August 24, 2011</ref> Nissen and Lotter then left, later being arrested and charged with murder.<ref name="trutv5"/>


Brandon Teena is buried in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in [[Lincoln, Nebraska]], his headstone inscribed with his birth name and the epitaph ''daughter, sister, & friend''.<ref name="FGBT">{{cite news | title = Teena R. "Brandon Teena" Brandon | publisher = Find A Grave | date = August 28, 2000 | url = http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11925 | accessdate = 2007-05-14}}</ref>
Brandon Teena is buried in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in [[Lincoln, Nebraska]], her headstone inscribed with her birth name and the epitaph ''daughter, sister, & friend''.<ref name="FGBT">{{cite news | title = Teena R. "Brandon Teena" Brandon | publisher = Find A Grave | date = August 28, 2000 | url = http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11925 | accessdate = 2007-05-14}}</ref>


Nissen accused Lotter of committing the murders. In exchange for a reduced sentence, Nissen admitted to being an accessory to the rape and murder. Nissen testified against Lotter and was sentenced to [[life in prison]]. Lotter proceeded to deny the veracity of Nissen’s testimony, and his testimony was discredited. The jury found Lotter guilty of murder and he received the [[capital punishment|death penalty]]. Lotter and Nissen both [[appeal]]ed their convictions, and their cases have gone to review. In September 2007, Nissen recanted his testimony against Lotter. He claimed that he was the only one to shoot Teena and that Lotter had not committed the murders.<ref name="recant">{{cite news | last = Jenkins | first = Nate | title = Inmate Recants Teena Brandon Story | publisher = [[Associated Press]] | date= 2007-09-20 | url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-09-20-recant-murder_N.htm?csp=34| accessdate = 2010-03-01 }}</ref> In 2009, Lotter's appeal, using Nissen's new testimony to assert a claim of innocence, was rejected by the Nebraska Supreme Court, which held that since—even under Nissen's revised testimony—both Lotter and Nissen were involved in the murder, the specific identity of the shooter was legally irrelevant.<ref name="innocence_appeal">{{cite court |litigants=State of Nebraska v. Lotter |vol=771 |reporter=N.W.2d |opinion=551 |pinpoint=564 |court=Neb. |date=2009 |url= |quote=[B]ecause of the joint participation in the felony and the reckless indifference to human life, it is irrelevant to the degree of culpability by whose hand the victims actually died.}}</ref> In August 2011, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected John Lotter's appeal.<ref name=JournalStar/>
Nissen accused Lotter of committing the murders. In exchange for a reduced sentence, Nissen admitted to being an accessory to the rape and murder. Nissen testified against Lotter and was sentenced to [[life in prison]]. Lotter proceeded to deny the veracity of Nissen’s testimony, and his testimony was discredited. The jury found Lotter guilty of murder and he received the [[capital punishment|death penalty]]. Lotter and Nissen both [[appeal]]ed their convictions, and their cases have gone to review. In September 2007, Nissen recanted his testimony against Lotter. He claimed that he was the only one to shoot Teena and that Lotter had not committed the murders.<ref name="recant">{{cite news | last = Jenkins | first = Nate | title = Inmate Recants Teena Brandon Story | publisher = [[Associated Press]] | date= 2007-09-20 | url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-09-20-recant-murder_N.htm?csp=34| accessdate = 2010-03-01 }}</ref> In 2009, Lotter's appeal, using Nissen's new testimony to assert a claim of innocence, was rejected by the Nebraska Supreme Court, which held that since—even under Nissen's revised testimony—both Lotter and Nissen were involved in the murder, the specific identity of the shooter was legally irrelevant.<ref name="innocence_appeal">{{cite court |litigants=State of Nebraska v. Lotter |vol=771 |reporter=N.W.2d |opinion=551 |pinpoint=564 |court=Neb. |date=2009 |url= |quote=[B]ecause of the joint participation in the felony and the reckless indifference to human life, it is irrelevant to the degree of culpability by whose hand the victims actually died.}}</ref> In August 2011, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected John Lotter's appeal.<ref name=JournalStar/>


==Cultural and legal legacy==
==Cultural and legal legacy==
Because Teena had neither commenced [[hormone replacement therapy (female-to-male)|hormone replacement therapy]] nor had [[Sex reassignment surgery female-to-male|sex reassignment surgery]], he has sometimes been identified as a [[lesbian]] by media reporters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glaad.org/publications/archive_detail.php?id=2192 |title=Brandon Teena Gets Dunne Wrong |accessdate=2006-12-07 |date= January 24, 1997 |publisher=[[Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation]] |quote=A New Yorker writer does not understand Brandon Teena's transgender identity, and describes him as a 'predatory' butch lesbian, referring to him as 'her' for most of the piece. |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070929091305/http://www.glaad.org/publications/archive_detail.php?id=2192 |archivedate = September 29, 2007}}</ref> However, some reported that Teena had stated that he planned to have sex reassignment surgery.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.justicejunction.com/judicial_injustice_brandon_teena_chapter2.htm |title=The Brandon Teena Story: Chapter 2: Brandon |accessdate=2006-12-07 |last=Griffy |first=Anna M. |date= July 4, 2004 |work=The Brandon Teena Story |publisher=Justice Junction |pages=2 |quote=Teena made her decision for good: she was going to live as a man and began to tell people she was having a sex change operation.}}</ref>
Because Teena had neither commenced [[hormone replacement therapy (female-to-male)|hormone replacement therapy]] nor had [[Sex reassignment surgery female-to-male|sex reassignment surgery]], she has sometimes been correctly identified as a [[lesbian]] by media reporters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glaad.org/publications/archive_detail.php?id=2192 |title=Brandon Teena Gets Dunne Wrong |accessdate=2006-12-07 |date= January 24, 1997 |publisher=[[Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation]] |quote=A New Yorker writer does not understand Brandon Teena's transgender identity, and describes her as a 'predatory' butch lesbian, referring to Teena correctly as 'her' for most of the piece. |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070929091305/http://www.glaad.org/publications/archive_detail.php?id=2192 |archivedate = September 29, 2007}}</ref> However, some reported that Teena had stated that she planned to have sex reassignment surgery.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.justicejunction.com/judicial_injustice_brandon_teena_chapter2.htm |title=The Brandon Teena Story: Chapter 2: Brandon |accessdate=2006-12-07 |last=Griffy |first=Anna M. |date= July 4, 2004 |work=The Brandon Teena Story |publisher=Justice Junction |pages=2 |quote=Teena made her decision for good: she was going to live as a man and began to tell people she was having a sex change operation.}}</ref>


JoAnn Brandon sued Richardson County and Sheriff Laux for failing to prevent Teena's death, as well as being an indirect cause. She won the case, and was awarded $80,000. District court judge Orville Coady reduced the amount by 85 percent based on the responsibility of Nissen and Lotter, and by one percent for JoAnn's alleged contributory [[negligence]]. This led to a remaining judgment of responsibility against Richardson County and Laux of $17,360.97.<ref name="friedmanlaw.com">{{cite web|url= http://www.friedmanlaw.com/news-teena-brandon.php |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071010043900/http://www.friedmanlaw.com/news-teena-brandon.php|archivedate=2007-10-10|title=Brandon - An American Tragedy |last=Friedman|first=Herbert J.|accessdate=2009-02-22}}</ref> In 2001, the Nebraska Supreme Court reversed the reductions of the earlier award reinstating the full $80,000 award for "mental suffering", plus $6,223.20 for funeral costs. In October 2001, the same judge awarded the plaintiff an additional $12,000: $5,000 for [[wrongful death]], and $7,000 for the intentional infliction of emotional distress.<ref name="friedmanlaw.com"/><ref>
JoAnn Brandon sued Richardson County and Sheriff Laux for failing to prevent Teena's death, as well as being an indirect cause. She won the case, and was awarded $80,000. District court judge Orville Coady reduced the amount by 85 percent based on the responsibility of Nissen and Lotter, and by one percent for JoAnn's alleged contributory [[negligence]]. This led to a remaining judgment of responsibility against Richardson County and Laux of $17,360.97.<ref name="friedmanlaw.com">{{cite web|url= http://www.friedmanlaw.com/news-teena-brandon.php |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071010043900/http://www.friedmanlaw.com/news-teena-brandon.php|archivedate=2007-10-10|title=Brandon - An American Tragedy |last=Friedman|first=Herbert J.|accessdate=2009-02-22}}</ref> In 2001, the Nebraska Supreme Court reversed the reductions of the earlier award reinstating the full $80,000 award for "mental suffering", plus $6,223.20 for funeral costs. In October 2001, the same judge awarded the plaintiff an additional $12,000: $5,000 for [[wrongful death]], and $7,000 for the intentional infliction of emotional distress.<ref name="friedmanlaw.com"/><ref>
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3219591.stm The victims of prejudice], B.B.C. News, 26 December 2003</ref> Laux was also criticized after the murder for his attitude — at one point Laux referred to Teena as "it".<ref>O'Hanlon, Kevin. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93519&page=1#.TtlniUqZMzQ "Sheriff Negligent in 'Boys Don't Cry' Death"]. [[ABC News]]. April 20, 2001</ref>
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3219591.stm The victims of prejudice], B.B.C. News, 26 December 2003</ref> Laux was also criticized after the murder for his attitude — at one point Laux referred to Teena as "it".<ref>O'Hanlon, Kevin. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93519&page=1#.TtlniUqZMzQ "Sheriff Negligent in 'Boys Don't Cry' Death"]. [[ABC News]]. April 20, 2001</ref>


In 1999, Teena became the subject of a [[biopic]] entitled ''[[Boys Don't Cry (film)|Boys Don't Cry]]'', starring [[Hilary Swank]] as Teena and [[Chloë Sevigny]] as Tisdel. For their performances, Swank won and Sevigny was nominated for an [[Academy Award]]. Tisdel sued the producers of the film for unauthorized use of her name and likeness before the film's release. She claimed the film depicted her as "lazy, [[white trash]], and a skanky snake". Tisdel also claimed that the film falsely portrayed that she continued the relationship with Teena after she discovered Teena was not anatomically male. She eventually [[legal settlement|settled]] her lawsuit against the movie's distributor for an undisclosed sum.<ref name="suntimes-filmlawsuit" /><ref name="age-doubles" />
In 1999, Teena became the subject of a [[biopic]] entitled ''[[Boys Don't Cry (film)|Boys Don't Cry]]'', starring [[Hilary Swank]] as Teena and [[Chloë Sevigny]] as Tisdel. For their performances, Swank won and Sevigny was nominated for an [[Academy Award]]. Tisdel sued the producers of the film for unauthorized use of her name and likeness before the film's release. She claimed the film depicted her as "lazy, [[white trash]], and a skanky snake". Tisdel also claimed that the film falsely portrayed that she continued the relationship with Teena after she discovered Teena was not a male. She eventually [[legal settlement|settled]] her lawsuit against the movie's distributor for an undisclosed sum.<ref name="suntimes-filmlawsuit" /><ref name="age-doubles" />


JoAnn Brandon publicly objected to the media referring to her child as "he" and "Brandon". Following Hilary Swank's Oscar acceptance speech, JoAnn Brandon took offense at Swank for thanking "Brandon Teena" - the name Teena Brandon adopted - and for referring to her as a man. "That set me off," said JoAnn Brandon. "She should not stand up there and thank my child. I get tired of people taking credit for what they don't know."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2000/mar/29/oscars2000.oscars "Nebraska and India slam Oscar injustices"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''. March 29, 2000</ref>
JoAnn Brandon publicly objected to the media referring to her child as "he" and "Brandon". Following Hilary Swank's Oscar acceptance speech, JoAnn Brandon took offense at Swank for thanking "Brandon Teena" - the name Teena Brandon adopted - and for referring to her as a man. "That set me off," said JoAnn Brandon. "She should not stand up there and thank my child. I get tired of people taking credit for what they don't know."<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2000/mar/29/oscars2000.oscars "Nebraska and India slam Oscar injustices"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''. March 29, 2000</ref>

Revision as of 12:17, 8 September 2012

Brandon Teena
Born
Teena Renae Brandon

(1972-12-12)December 12, 1972
Lincoln, Nebraska
DiedDecember 31, 1993(1993-12-31) (aged 21)
Humboldt, Nebraska
Cause of deathMurder by gunshot
Resting placeLincoln Memorial Park[1]
NationalityAmerican
Other namesBilly Brinson
Teena Ray
Parent(s)Patrick and JoAnn Brandon

Brandon Teena (December 12, 1972 – December 31, 1993) was an American trans man, a female to male transgender person, who was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska.[2][3][4] Her life and death were the subject of the Academy Award-winning 1999 film Boys Don't Cry, which was based on the documentary film The Brandon Teena Story.

Life

Teena was born Teena Renae Brandon in Lincoln, Nebraska, the younger of two children to Patrick and JoAnn Brandon. Her father died in a car accident eight months before she was born, and she was raised by her mother.[5] JoAnn named her second child after their German shepherd dog, Tina Marie.[5] Teena and her older sister Tammy lived with their maternal grandmother in Lincoln, before they were reclaimed by their mother when Teena was three years old and Tammy was six years old. The family resided in the Pine Acre Mobile Home Park in northeast Lincoln, and JoAnn worked as a clerk in a women's retail store in Lincoln to support the family. As young children, Teena and Tammy were sexually abused by their uncle for several years,[5][6] and Teena and her mother JoAnn sought counselling for this in 1991.[7] JoAnn remarried once from 1975 to 1980, with the marriage having failed due to her husband's alcoholism.[5] Teena's family described her as being a tomboy since early childhood; Teena began identifying as male during adolescence and dated a female student during this period. Her mother rejected her male identity and continued referring to Teena as her "daughter", which she was. On several occasions Teena claimed to be intersex though this assertion was later dispoved.[8]

Teena and her sister attended St. Mary's Elementary School and Pius X High School in Lincoln, where Teena was remembered as being socially awkward.[5] During her sophomore year, Teena rejected Christianity after she protested to a priest at Pius X regarding Christian views on abstinence and homosexuality.[5] She also began rebelling at school by violating the school dress-code policy to dress more masculine. During the first semester of her senior year, a U.S. Army recruiter visited the high school, encouraging students to enlist in the armed forces. Teena enlisted in the United States Army shortly after her eighteenth birthday, and hoped to serve a tour of duty in Operation Desert Shield. However, she failed the written entrance exam by claiming to be male.[5]

In December 1990, Teena went to Holiday Skate Park with her friends, binding her breasts in order to pass as a boy. The 18-year-old Teena went on a date with a 13-year old girl, and they shared a passionate kiss, which is considered pedophilia under Nebraska law. She also met the girl's 14-year-old friend, Heather,[5] and began cross-dressing regularly in an attempt to attract teenage women. In the months nearing her high school graduation, Teena became unusually outgoing and was remembered by classmates as a "class clown".[5] Teena also began skipping school and receiving failing grades, and was expelled from Pius X High School in June 1991, three days before high school graduation.[5]

In the summer of 1991, Teena began her first major relationship, with Heather. Shortly after, Teena was first employed as a gas station attendant in an attempt to purchase a trailer home for herself and her girlfriend. Her mother, however, did not approve of the relationship, and convinced her daughter to follow Teena in order to know if the relationship was platonic or sexual.[5]

In January 1992 Teena underwent a psychiatric evaluation, which concluded that Teena was suffering from a severe sexual identity crisis.[5] She was later taken to the Lancaster County Crisis Center to ensure that he was not suicidal. Teena later confessed to her mother that she had been raped by a male relative as a young child. She was released from the center three days later and began attending therapy sessions with her mother four times per week, which ended two weeks later.[5]

In 1993, after some legal trouble, Teena moved to the Falls City region of Richardson County, Nebraska, where she identified solely as a man. She became friends with several local residents. After moving into the home of Lisa Lambert, Teena began dating her friend 19-year-old Lana Tisdel, and began associating with ex-convicts John L. Lotter (born May 31, 1971) and Marvin Thomas "Tom" Nissen (born October 22, 1971).

On December 19, 1993, Teena was arrested for forging checks; Tisdel paid her bail. Because Teena was in the female section of the jail, Tisdel learned that she was transgender. When Tisdel later questioned Teena about her gender, Teena told her that she was a hermaphrodite pursuing a sex change operation, and they continued dating.[8] In a lawsuit regarding the film adaptation Boys Don't Cry, this was disputed by Tisdel.[9][10] Teena's arrest was posted in the local paper under her birth name and her acquaintances subsequently learned that she was a female.

Sexual assault and murder

During a Christmas Eve party, Nissen and Lotter grabbed Teena and forced her to remove her pants, proving to Tisdel that Teena was a female. Tisdel said nothing and looked only when they forced her to. Lotter and Nissen later assaulted Teena, and forced her into a car. They drove to an area by a meat-packing plant in Richardson County, where they assaulted and raped her. They then returned to Nissen's home. Teena escaped from Nissen's bathroom by climbing out the window, and went to Tisdel's house. She was convinced by Tisdel to file a police report, though Nissen and Lotter had warned Teena not to tell the police about the rape or they would "silence her permanently". Teena also went to the emergency room where a standard rape kit was assembled, and later lost. Sheriff Charles B. Laux questioned Teena about the rape; reportedly, he seemed especially interested in Teena's transsexuality, to the point that Teena found his questions rude and unnecessary, and refused to answer. Nissen and Lotter learned of the report, and they began to search for Teena. They did not find her, and three days later the police questioned them. The sheriff declined to have them arrested due to lack of evidence.

Nissen and Lotter drove to Lambert’s house and broke in. They found Lambert in bed and demanded to know where Teena was. Lambert refused to tell them. Nissen searched and found Teena under the bed. The men asked Lambert if there was anyone else in the house, and she replied that Phillip DeVine, who at the time was dating Tisdel's sister,[8] was staying with her. They shot and killed DeVine, Lambert, and Teena, in front of Lambert's toddler.[11] Nissen would later testify in court that he noticed that Teena was twitching, and asked Lotter for a knife, with which Nissen stabbed her, to ensure that she was dead.[12][13] Nissen and Lotter then left, later being arrested and charged with murder.[11]

Brandon Teena is buried in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska, her headstone inscribed with her birth name and the epitaph daughter, sister, & friend.[1]

Nissen accused Lotter of committing the murders. In exchange for a reduced sentence, Nissen admitted to being an accessory to the rape and murder. Nissen testified against Lotter and was sentenced to life in prison. Lotter proceeded to deny the veracity of Nissen’s testimony, and his testimony was discredited. The jury found Lotter guilty of murder and he received the death penalty. Lotter and Nissen both appealed their convictions, and their cases have gone to review. In September 2007, Nissen recanted his testimony against Lotter. He claimed that he was the only one to shoot Teena and that Lotter had not committed the murders.[14] In 2009, Lotter's appeal, using Nissen's new testimony to assert a claim of innocence, was rejected by the Nebraska Supreme Court, which held that since—even under Nissen's revised testimony—both Lotter and Nissen were involved in the murder, the specific identity of the shooter was legally irrelevant.[15] In August 2011, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected John Lotter's appeal.[13]

Cultural and legal legacy

Because Teena had neither commenced hormone replacement therapy nor had sex reassignment surgery, she has sometimes been correctly identified as a lesbian by media reporters.[16] However, some reported that Teena had stated that she planned to have sex reassignment surgery.[17]

JoAnn Brandon sued Richardson County and Sheriff Laux for failing to prevent Teena's death, as well as being an indirect cause. She won the case, and was awarded $80,000. District court judge Orville Coady reduced the amount by 85 percent based on the responsibility of Nissen and Lotter, and by one percent for JoAnn's alleged contributory negligence. This led to a remaining judgment of responsibility against Richardson County and Laux of $17,360.97.[18] In 2001, the Nebraska Supreme Court reversed the reductions of the earlier award reinstating the full $80,000 award for "mental suffering", plus $6,223.20 for funeral costs. In October 2001, the same judge awarded the plaintiff an additional $12,000: $5,000 for wrongful death, and $7,000 for the intentional infliction of emotional distress.[18][19] Laux was also criticized after the murder for his attitude — at one point Laux referred to Teena as "it".[20]

In 1999, Teena became the subject of a biopic entitled Boys Don't Cry, starring Hilary Swank as Teena and Chloë Sevigny as Tisdel. For their performances, Swank won and Sevigny was nominated for an Academy Award. Tisdel sued the producers of the film for unauthorized use of her name and likeness before the film's release. She claimed the film depicted her as "lazy, white trash, and a skanky snake". Tisdel also claimed that the film falsely portrayed that she continued the relationship with Teena after she discovered Teena was not a male. She eventually settled her lawsuit against the movie's distributor for an undisclosed sum.[9][10]

JoAnn Brandon publicly objected to the media referring to her child as "he" and "Brandon". Following Hilary Swank's Oscar acceptance speech, JoAnn Brandon took offense at Swank for thanking "Brandon Teena" - the name Teena Brandon adopted - and for referring to her as a man. "That set me off," said JoAnn Brandon. "She should not stand up there and thank my child. I get tired of people taking credit for what they don't know."[21]

The British duo Pet Shop Boys released a song called "Girls Don't Cry" (a bonus track on U.K. issue of I'm with Stupid) about Teena in 2006.

Teena's violent death, along with the murder of Matthew Shepard, led to increased lobbying for hate crime laws in the United States.[22]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Teena R. "Brandon Teena" Brandon". Find A Grave. August 28, 2000. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  2. ^ Note: - as Brandon Teena was never her legal name, it is uncertain the extent to which this name was used prior to her death. It is the name most commonly used by the press and other media. Other names may include her legal name, as well as "Billy Brenson" and "Teena Ray"
  3. ^ "U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals — JoAnn Brandon v Charles B. Laux". FindLaw. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
  4. ^ Howey, Noelle (2000-03-22). "Boys Do Cry". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Death of a Deceiver from January 1995 edition of Playboy
  6. ^ Sloop, John Rhetorics of sex identity in contemporary U.S. culture, page 77 at Google Books
  7. ^ Chasing the Frog.com
  8. ^ a b c Ramsland, Katherine. "Teena Brandon". TruTV. Retrieved 2009-02-22. Cite error: The named reference "trutv" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b "Brandon film lawsuit settled". Chicago Sun-Times. 2000-03-11. Archived from the original on 2007-10-16. Retrieved 2009-02-22. [dead link]
  10. ^ a b Hawker, Philippa (2002-03-01). "Seeing doubles". Melbourne: The Age. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  11. ^ a b Ramsland, Katherine. "Teena Brandon". TruTV. p. 5. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  12. ^ Directed by Susan Muska and Gréta Olafsdóttir (1998). The Brandon Teena Story (film). Bless Bless Productions.
  13. ^ a b Beck, Margery A. "Panel rejects death row inmate Lotter's appeal". Lincoln Journal Star. August 24, 2011
  14. ^ Jenkins, Nate (2007-09-20). "Inmate Recants Teena Brandon Story". Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  15. ^ State of Nebraska v. Lotter, 771 N.W.2d 551, 564 (Neb. 2009) ("[B]ecause of the joint participation in the felony and the reckless indifference to human life, it is irrelevant to the degree of culpability by whose hand the victims actually died.").
  16. ^ "Brandon Teena Gets Dunne Wrong". Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. January 24, 1997. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2006-12-07. A New Yorker writer does not understand Brandon Teena's transgender identity, and describes her as a 'predatory' butch lesbian, referring to Teena correctly as 'her' for most of the piece.
  17. ^ Griffy, Anna M. (July 4, 2004). "The Brandon Teena Story: Chapter 2: Brandon". The Brandon Teena Story. Justice Junction. p. 2. Retrieved 2006-12-07. Teena made her decision for good: she was going to live as a man and began to tell people she was having a sex change operation.
  18. ^ a b Friedman, Herbert J. "Brandon - An American Tragedy". Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  19. ^ The victims of prejudice, B.B.C. News, 26 December 2003
  20. ^ O'Hanlon, Kevin. "Sheriff Negligent in 'Boys Don't Cry' Death". ABC News. April 20, 2001
  21. ^ "Nebraska and India slam Oscar injustices". The Guardian. March 29, 2000
  22. ^ "Hate crimes legislation updates and information: Background information on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA)". National Youth Advocacy Coalition. Retrieved December 2, 2011.

References

External links

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