Amber McLaughlin

Amber McLaughlin (January 13, 1973 – January 3, 2023) was an American criminal executed in Missouri for the 2003 rape and murder of her ex-girlfriend, Beverly Guenther. At the time of the crime, McLaughlin was living as male; she transitioned from male to female while incarcerated. McLaughlin became the first openly transgender person to be executed in the United States. Her legal name remained her birth name, Scott A. McLaughlin, and she was identified as such in her death warrant and in prison records.

McLaughlin was a registered sex offender because of a 1992 conviction for sexual assault against a 14-year-old girl.

At McLaughlin's 2006 trial, the jury was deadlocked on the issue of the death penalty. In most U.S. states, this would result in a sentence of life imprisonment. However, Missouri is one of only two states (the other being Indiana) in which a judge has the discretion to sentence a defendant to death if the jury is deadlocked on the issue of capital punishment.

In August 2021, McLaughlin's sentence was reinstated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. On January 3, 2023, McLaughlin was executed by the state.