In October 2012, 43-year-old Janette Tovar, a transgender woman and beloved bar promoter in Dallas, Texas, was found unresponsive in her home. Earlier that day, her partner, Jonathan Stuart Kenney, had violently assaulted her—slamming her head into concrete and continuing the attack behind closed doors.

Despite confessing to the crime, Kenney received a plea deal that resulted in just 10 years of probation. The sentence shocked many and raised urgent questions about how the justice system treats cases involving transgender victims.

In this episode, I take a closer look at what really happened to Janette, the failures that followed, and why her story still matters today.