MANILA, Philippines — A U.S. Marine convicted of killing a Filipino transgender woman was deported Sunday after a presidential pardon cut short his detention in a case that renewed outrage over a pact governing American military presence in the Philippines. In his nearly six years of confinement, Pemberton said he spent “much time contemplating the many errors” he committed the night Laude died. Duterte said he granted the pardon because Pemberton was not treated fairly after his early release, which he said the Marine may have deserved, was blocked. A witness told investigators that Pemberton said he choked Laude after discovering she was transgender. In December 2015, a judge convicted Pemberton of homicide, not the more serious charge of murder that Philippine prosecutors sought.

Source: Fox News September 13, 2020 16:18 UTC