• 7 years ago
• Posted in:Arson, Assault/Wounding, Driving Offences, Kidnap/Abduction, Murder/ Manslaughter, Violent Offences
• 0
• Author: Trans Crime
• Tags: Acquitted, Aged 20-29, Aged 30-39, Convicted 1996, Convicted 1999, Convicted 2005, Detransitioned, Ex-paratrooper, Female prison, Gender issues cited as mitigation, Glasgow, HMP Barlinnie, HMP Cornton Vale, Lanarkshire, Lisa-Anne Docherty, Little or no media coverage, Male victim, Military/Police/Prison officer, Multiple victims, Offended 1996, Offended 1997, Offended 2005, Post-SRS, Post-transition, pre-GRS, Pre-transition, Reoffended while on licence/bail, Scotland, Trans woman, William Wotherspoon

Silhouette image via Wikimedia Commons

William Wotherspoon/ Lisa-Anne Docherty, a violent male who previously identified as a trans woman, has been convicted and (in some cases) acquitted of a several violent crimes. He is understood to have since detransitioned – a 2005 article reports Wotherspoon as preparing for the surgery.

In 1995, the ex-paratrooper Wotherspoon was acquitted of the murder of Francis McMillan, who died 17 days after being doused with petrol and set on fire.

In 1996, he was sentenced to 18-month in prison for attacking a man with an axe. An appeal heard at the High Court failed and he was sent back to HMP Barlinnie ( a male prison). He reportedly appeared at the court in Hamilton dressed as a woman. During another court appearance to answer to a driving while banned charge, Wotherspoon’s lawyers tried to argue that his “psychological difficulties” and proposed sex change made prison an inappropriate sentence.

Following conviction Wotherspoon said ”I’ve never been a gangster and I’m certainly not the Glasgow godmother.”

In 1999, then aged 29, he admitted driving while disqualified and breaching bail and community service conditions and was sentenced to three months, to run concurrently. He appeared in court dressed as a man.

In 2001, he underwent gender reassignment surgery at a private clinic in 2001 and changed his name to Lisa-Anne Docherty. Wotherspoon/Docherty fathered a child with a female partner named Lisa-Marie Barraclough in 2003 – this Times article details how the couple allegedly used instructions from the internet to learn how how to store sperm and artificially inseminate Lisa-Marie.

In 2005, Wotherspoon/Docherty was held on remand at women’s prison HMP Cornton Vale while accused of abducting a man.

Also in 2005, Wotherspoon/Docherty, then aged 39, appeared in court charged with driving without an MOT and insurance and reportedly wanted an operation to reverse the gender reassignment surgery on the NHS.

In 2006 Wotherspoon/Docherty was reportedly beaten up and shot with an airgun for ‘taking too long in a public telephone box’ in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire.

Media reports:

Herald Scotland http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12206512.Sex_change_prisoner_denies_he_is_gangster/ archive

Mirror Group Newspapers 23.09.2005 (archive) ‘Tranny now a Manny: Sex change court shock‘   archive

The Scotsman http://www.scotsman.com/news/sex-change-father-poses-ethical-dilemma-1-646744 archive

The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/what-next-for-sex-swap-pairs-baby-h7vwn7lhbwc archive 

Daily Record 10.10.1999 (archive) ‘Call me Lisa, says Scots Gangster‘ archive

Daily Record 09.02.2003 (archive) ‘THE GODMOTHER; Sex swap gangster freed after telling court he’s going straight as a woman‘  archive

Daily Record 04.08.2006 (archive) ‘Sex-change Dad of five is shot in phone box; Ex-para Lisa ‘took too long‘  archive

A large number of articles on Wotherspoon/Docherty in e.g. the Daily Mail, Mirror and Daily Record are no longer available online, but excerpts can also be read here,  here, here, here and here. No images of the offender are available.