A Philadelphia jury this week convicted Abdullah El-Amin of third-degree murder for taking the life of Trans woman Mia Green. He faces a lengthy prison term when sentenced in November.
Green, 27, was shot to death by El-Amin on the morning of Sept. 28, 2020, after a sexual encounter in West Philadelphia.
Initially, El-Amin, 40, told police Green entered his jeep uninvited and an unknown person shot her. After El-Amin was arrested and questioned by homicide detectives, he acknowledged inviting Green into his jeep for sex.
According to El-Amin, Green provided oral sex inside El-Amin’s jeep for a $25 fee. Then, she tried to grab his gun and rob him. They grappled with the gun and he shot her four times in self-defense.
Because El-Amin’s gun fired two bullets with each pull of the trigger, Green sustained eight bullet wounds, according to the medical examiner’s report.
After the shooting, El-Amin drove toward the Schuylkill River, possibly to dispose of Green’s body. But he ran a stop sign and police stopped him. Rather than preserving the crime scene, police allowed El-Amin to continue driving his jeep to Penn-Presbyterian hospital, where Green was pronounced dead at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 28, 2020.
While following police to the hospital, El-Amin discarded his gun in a dumpster. Police never have been able to locate it and dust it for fingerprints.
El-Amin, 40, was charged with first-degree murder and related offenses. He’s been held at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility without bail since May.
El-Amin told police he didn’t know Green was Trans until a detective told him that fact, after the shooting. Authorities haven’t found evidence that El-Amin had any prior association with Green.
During a weeklong trial, El-Amin’s attorney, Shaka M. Johnson, didn’t invoke a Trans-panic defense. But Johnson appeared to devalue the humanity of Green in his closing argument. For example, Johnson referred to Green as a “twenty-five dollar working girl.”
Johnson said his client had a “lapse in judgment” by paying $25 to have sex with Green. “He [El-Amin] made some poor choices,” Johnson told the jury, adding: “This is not moral court. This is criminal court.”
Johnson said his client is guilty of soliciting a prostitute. “Yes, he’s guilty of that,” Johnson told jurors. “But he’s not guilty of murder.”
Green’s birth name, “Tracy,” is unisex. But Johnson frequently referred to Green by citing her middle name, which is male-oriented. Johnson repeatedly asserted that his client grappled with someone who wasn’t biologically female.
Moreover, Johnson noted that cocaine was found in Green’s system and that she had a history of drug addiction. He said it’s very plausible she tried to rob El-Amin to buy drugs.
But prosecutor Helen H. Park scoffed at that notion. Park told jurors that Green didn’t have a history of theft or robbery.
Also, Park said Green was shot in the back and side, indicating she was trying to exit the jeep when killed. “A person defending themselves doesn’t shoot another person in the back,” Park told jurors.
Additionally, Park pointed out that El-Amin didn’t have any injuries indicating he had a scuffle with Green. On the other hand, Green sustained eight bullet wounds.
“He [El-Amin] showed no concern for her,” Park told jurors. “There was a total absence of respect for her existence.”
After deliberating on two separate days, jurors returned a third-degree murder conviction, meaning the crime wasn’t premeditated. They also returned a gun conviction. El-Amin is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 4 at the Criminal Justice Center, 1315 Filbert Street in Center City.
Kelly Burkhardt, the District Attorney’s LGBTQ+ liaison, praised the verdict. “It’s very affirming and gratifying that the jury did not buy into the victim-blaming tactics that typically happen in cases involving a black Trans woman,” Burkhardt said, in an email. “And I want to give a huge shout-out to ADA Helen Park for her diligent work that led to this important verdict.”
Asa Khalif, a member of the District Attorney’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee, also praised the verdict. “Today, justice was served through the court system,” Khalif told PGN. “But the fight for Trans lives continues. Mia Green lives on in the hearts of all who loved her.”
Justin F. Robinette, an attorney who attended part of the trial, expressed mixed feelings about the verdict. “I’m glad the defendant didn’t get away with murder,” Robinette told PGN. “But my preference would be first-degree murder because I do believe it was premeditated. Shame on the defense attorney for going out of his way to devalue Ms. Green’s life before the jury, in open court — as if her life did not matter. You should not be able to commit violence against members of the LGBTQ+ community like this and think you can get off with just a slap on the wrist. Black Trans women are among the most vulnerable within the LGBTQ+ community. Therefore, I fervently hope the defendant will receive a lengthy prison term when sentenced in November.”
Johnson, the defense attorney, had no comment for this story.