A British judge has lifted the suppression order that stopped the media for naming the two teenagers convicted of murdering transgender British teenager Brianna Ghey.
Warning: This story has details of violence against a person who was transgender. Information in this article might be distressing to some readers. For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were both given life sentences by Justice Yip in a Manchester court. The judge said Jenkinson was motivated by a “deep desire to kill”, while Ratcliffe’s motivation could partly be attributed to his hostility to Ghey’s transgender identity.
Jenkinson will have to serve 22 years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole, while Ratciffe will have to remain in prison for 20 years. They were both 15 years old when they committed the murder, during the trial they blamed each other for the death.
During the trial the court heard that Ghey was stabbed 28 times, and her body was found on a path in Culcheth Linear Park, a few miles from her Birchwood home. The wounds of her body were to her head, neck, back and chest.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe had discussed murdering Ghey and other potential victims in the lead up to the February 2023 attack. They lured her to the park after Jenkinson struck up a friendship with the 16-year-old transgender girl.
Justice Yip said the pairs assault on Ghey had been “brutal”.
“Taken together the injuries point to a very sustained and violent assault,” she added.
“Sadly, Brianna can’t have lost consciousness immediately and she must have been aware she was being attacked.”
Ahead of the sentencing Brianna Ghey’s parents and sister delivered victim impact statements to the court. Her mother, Esther Ghey, said she believed the two teenagers would always be a threat to society, and one of the “hardest things” to come to terms with was finding out one of the people charged with her daughter’s murder was someone Brianna had considered a friend.
ABC News and Associated Press criticised after publishing report containing Ghey’s ‘dead name’.
As news of the sentence and the identity of the two killers was made publicly available the ABC came under fire for publishing a report from Associated Press that contained Ghey’s ‘dead name’.
A ‘dead name;’ is the birth name a transgender person uses prior to their gender transition. Using a transgender person’s birth name without their permission is considered bad form.
US organisation GLAAD says journalists should not use a transgender person’s former name without their permission, “even if from ‘official’ sources like police, lawmakers or medical examiner records. Doing so undermines authentic identity, endangers all in the trans community, and is inaccurate journalism.”
Associated Press’s own Style Guide noted that “deadnaming someone can be akin to using a slur and can cause feelings of gender dysphoria to resurface.”
“Why are you deadnaming Brianna? This is shoddy journalism. Have you not read your journalism code of ethics on LGBTQIA issues? Not followed suit with other media outlets who’ve chosen to not deadname trans people? Why?” one follower of the broadcaster asked on Twitter.
The copy was later updated to remove the reference to Ghey’s former name.
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