One of the men convicted in the murder of transgender teen Gwen Araujo has been approved for parole after serving just 14 years behind bars.

Jose Merél was charged with second-degree murder in the brutal 2002 beating death of Araujo, in which he and Michael Magidson conspired to kill the 17-year-old after discovering she was transgender.

Merél was originally sentenced to 15 years to life, but after being approved for his parole, could be out in five short months.

Araujo was murdered after attending a party at Merél's house. At the party, she was confronted by him and Magidson about her gender identity, eventually disclosing that she was trans. They became enraged and began to assault her, beating her so badly that she died. Witnesses helped to bury the body.

During the 2002 trial, Merél and Magidson's attorneys invoked a "trans panic" defense, arguing that the men lost control after discovering her identity. They stated that because both Merél and Magidson had had sex with Araujo under the assumption that she was a cisgender female, the "shock" of finding out she was trans was too much for them to handle.

Though they were convicted of the murder, the defense helped the men to avoid being charged with a hate crime.

In honor of Araujo's life, California passed the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act in 2006, which greatly limited the use of discriminatory "trans panic" defenses. In 2014, the law was strengthened to prohibit their use entirely.

h/t: LGBTQ Nation