MANILA, Philippines -- A U.S. Marine convicted of killing a Filipino transgender woman has been deported after a presidential pardon cut short his detention in a case that renewed outrage over a pact governing American military presence in the Philippines.
Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton said in a farewell message that he was extremely grateful to President Rodrigo Duterte for pardoning him and expressed his most sincere sympathy to the family of Jennifer Laude, who he was convicted of killing in 2014 after finding out that she was a transgender in a motel northwest of Manila.
Duterte’s pardon was condemned by LGBTQ groups while the case has rekindled perceptions that American military personnel who run afoul of Philippine laws can get special treatment under a defense pact.
