Sentencing Hearing
Chanelle Picket Murder Trial
Middlesex Courthouse, Cambridge
May 16, 1997

Penni Ashe Matz, a systems analyst at Verizon, a Vietnam veteran, and a tireless trans-activist, gathered with protestors at the Middlesex Courthouse for the sentencing of William Palmer, charged with the murder of Chanelle Pickett, a transgendered woman. The jury found Palmer guilty of assault and battery, but acquitted him on the charge of first-degree murder.

"I had been to the courthouse twice - once to hear testimony by the forensics expert, and again for the sentencing hearing. I remember going into the chambers of this very stern and imposing judge to get permission to take pictures in the courtroom. At the hearing, the judge imposed a heavier sentence than the district attorney requested and pointedly addressed Palmer, telling him that he deserved a harsher verdict than he was getting. At the time, I thought, 'This is tragic and outrageous.' I'm constantly amazed at the negative attitudes people have about transgender people. Really, why are they so threatening?"