The Gay Panic

Episode 1: You'll See Me Again

May 25, 2019, Detroit. A party on Devonshire Street. Alunte Davis, 21, Timothy Blancher, 20, and Paris Cameron, 20, invite a stranger back from a gas station. Hours later, three people are dead. Prosecutors said they were targeted because of who they were. Michigan did not ban the gay and trans panic defense until 2024, five years later. This is the case that started the show, and the law that was not there yet.

Episode 2: Three Minutes

April 10, 2021, Blacksburg, Virginia. Isimemen Etute, 18, matches "Angie Renee" on Tinder, meets Jerry Paul Smith, 40, and is given $50. On May 31, he returns with two teammates waiting outside to find out the truth. He is inside for three minutes. Smith is beaten, stomped, and left breathing. Etute never calls 911. A jury acquits him on June 3, 2022. Virginia's ban on the panic defense took effect July 1, 2021, 31 days too late.