Originally posted March 27, 2024.
Several Oklahoma-based LGBTQ and 2STGNC (Two-spirit, transgender, gender noncomforming+) organizations and GLAAD are responding to the news of Nex Benedict’s full autopsy report.
Nex was a 16-year-old of Choctaw heritage who identified as transmasculine and nonbinary and used he/him or they/them pronouns according to loved ones. Nex died the day after being attacked three-on-one in a restroom at Owasso High School in Owasso, Oklahoma last month.
Oklahoma lawmakers passed a law in 2022 requiring that students only be allowed to use the bathrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth; passed a law banning transgender students from school sports in 2022; and passed a law that banned birth certificate markers different from “female” or “male.”
In August 2023, Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order requiring state agencies to use limited definitions of female and male. In November 2023, the state Department of Education passed a rule mandating that all school staff report any student they know or suspect to be queer or trans to that student’s parents and/or guardians, further limiting access to having safe conversations about being LGBTQ or 2STGNC+, even among friends, in a school environment.
“This report cannot be seen as a conclusion of the investigation into the death of a teenager who should still be here today. Oklahoma’s supposed leaders must still provide answers to the public about the state-sponsored bullying by legislation, the inadequate response to violence in a school bathroom, and all the failures to keep Nex safe that continue to endanger LGBTQ and 2STGNC+ people in Oklahoma,” Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President and CEO, said. “GLAAD continues to call for an independent investigation to resolve the systemic failures that led to Nex’s death. Our hearts remain with Nex’s family, with Oklahoma’s incredible 2STGNC+ and equality advocates, and all LGBTQ youth who deserve to grow up in peace and safety.”
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Several Oklahoma-based organizations also spoke out on today’s full autopsy report.
“As our community continues to grieve and remember Nex, it’s clearer than ever that everyone from Oklahoma’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters to Owasso High School staff members to the Owasso Police Department, Tulsa District Attorney, and unaccredited-since-2009 state medical examiner’s office failed to deliver justice for Nex Benedict and Nex’s loved ones,” Nicole McAfree (they/she), executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, said. “A harm doubled by the continued lack of respect for the tribal law enforcement who should be involved in a case that involves the death of an Indigenous person on reservation land. As we approach the end of the Oklahoma legislative session, lawmakers should take the opportunity to send a message of adamant opposition to anti-2SLGBTQ+ legislation and policies; and support for measures that enable more empathy, kindness, and compassion, not less. Nex should be alive, and the very least we can do in Nex’s memory is demonstrate our commitment to building a better world that makes it impossible for this heartbreaking tragedy to happen again.”
“We continue to grieve and mourn the loss of our community member Nex Benedict, a transmasculine and nonbinary youth of Choctaw descent, whose life was needlessly cut short. The fact remains that Nex was failed by systems, institutions, and people who should have provided love and support to show Nex that his life matters and he was not alone,” the Trans Advocacy Coalition of Oklahoma said. “A culture of bullying, harassment, and discrimination is pervasive in Oklahoma and has especially detrimental effects on members of vulnerable communities, including LGBTQ and Indigenous youth like Nex. The hostile environment and culture that Oklahomans face daily is sanctioned by institutions like the Oklahoma Department of Education that refuse to take tangible steps to make a change and show a commitment to the value of these students’ identities and lives. We can and must do better.”
“Today’s news is the latest disappointing development in Nex Benedict’s tragic story. The best way to honor Nex’s memory now is by taking tangible steps to secure meaningful policies and platforms that make life better for all LGBTQ and 2STGNC+ youth,” Kylan L. Durant, Oklahoma Pride Alliance President, said. “All Oklahomans deserve to live in a world that treats us with full dignity and respect, and where we can access spaces that allow us to live as our honest, authentic selves. We will never stop advocating for equality and justice in honor of Nex and too many others who left us too soon.”
“Since Nex’s death, the crisis lines at the Rainbow Youth Project continue to increase in calls and outreach from young people who feel discouraged and hopeless. It’s incumbent upon all of us to secure safety and well-being for young people, especially those who are most at risk of being bullied and singled out,” Christopher Sederburg, Leader of the Transgender Action Committee at Rainbow Youth Project USA, said. “It’s hard enough to be a young person in the world today without worrying about doing something as simple as attending school safely. Nex’s death is a tremendous loss and we must do everything in our power to prevent similar tragedies from taking place in the future. Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters and the Oklahoma Department of Education must enact change and do right by all students.”
GLAAD is releasing 16 Key Questions for reporters covering Nex Benedict’s death to ask of state, local and school officials:
1. Why is the police department rushing to release premature and incomplete information? As reported before, Owasso police have already rushed to release incomplete information about Nex’s death amid an ongoing investigation, admitting that doing so was not normal practice, and that it was to “head off” national scrutiny.
2. Why did the police not wait to release any information until the full investigation was completed and the full report is out, as already announced, on March 27th?
3. Why has the state medical examiner’s office been operating without accreditation for at least fourteen years?
4. As recently as nine months ago, the Tulsa office reported being significantly behind in cases and understaffed. How are these shortcomings impacting the investigation and rushed premature reports about Nex’s death?
5. What other scandals has the medical examiner’s office been implicated in? The Office has faced allegations of misconduct, incorrect death certificates, and more, from families of the deceased to former employees of the office.
6. When have Benadryl and Prozac ever been listed as a lethal combination?
In fresh and original reporting today, Christopher Wiggins of The Advocate spoke to Dr. Joshua King, medical director of the Maryland Poison Center at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, and Dr. Masha Yemets, a clinical toxicology fellow at the same institution, to gain insights into the risks associated with these medications in overdose scenarios.
“‘Without the full autopsy report and associated toxicology data, we couldn’t comment about the medical examiner’s determination,” Yemets cautioned — but they agreed that both of the medications reported to be in Benedict’s system are commonly taken and pose a low risk of dangerous interactions when used correctly. Diphenhydramine is an antihistamine taken for allergies and fluoxetine is used for depression and anxiety.”The medications are “part of a larger group of medications that, in the vast majority of cases, are used safely by millions of people. The risk of death from these medications, especially when used as directed, is extraordinarily low,” King added.
7. How did the medical examiner determine that these two common medications millions of Americans take were not ingested accidentally or improperly administered via medical providers who treated Nex the night before their death?
8. When did the medical examiner or police department review the records and interview medical center personnel from Nex’s visit the night before they died to determine what medications, dosages or other treatments and guidance were prescribed or given and when?
9. Why did the school not call police immediately after the assault in the school bathroom?
10. Where are the formal written protocols and policies that guided this non-response to an assault in which a student was beaten unconscious in a school bathroom?
11. What programs exist to prevent, report and address bullying in Owasso and all Oklahoma public schools? Where are the materials used to inform students and educators about bullying? If such a program exists, when was it created and initiated and by whom; when was the last time staff or students were briefed about bullying, including ways to prevent it, report it, and address it? How are schools familiarizing students and teachers with differences that are commonly targeted by bullies? What is being implemented today to stop bullying from happening again?
12. Have there been other attacks in schools on Indigenous or LGBTQ students? Where do these reports and documentation exist?
13. What correspondence has Owasso public schools had with Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ryan Walters, about Nex’s death and next steps to prevent any more bullying or deaths of Owasso students?
14. When will Owasso and all public schools in Oklahoma update its bathroom policies and protocols to ensure all students, including Two Spirit, Transgender and Gender Nonconforming (2STGNC+) can simply use the bathroom they feel safest in?
15. Why does Superintendent Walters continue to deny the existence of transgender and gender nonconforming people, in a state whose Indigenous history and culture has long respected and honored Two Spirit people and expanded definitions of gender and gender expression? How does Superintendent Walters think his inaccurate statements and beliefs such as “there are only two genders” impact people of other faiths and Indigenous backgrounds who know and respect that transgender people and youth exist, attend Oklahoma public schools, and as taxpayers, pay Walters’ salary to represent and protect their families and children?
16. What other cases of the deaths of Indigenous and 2STGNC+ people has the medical examiner and police department handled? How do their families feel about state officials and department credibility and competency?
GLAAD is documenting Superintendent Walters’ record here, which includes:
Falsely and harmfully denying the existence and history of Two Spirit and gender expansive people including among Indigenous cultures in his own state
Pushing book bans, harassing educators who support the freedom to read, and appearing with extremist national book banning group Moms for Liberty, an appearance for which Walters billed Oklahoma taxpayers, and a post on Twitter/X just today with the cofounders of Moms for Liberty (ominously) saying “We’ve got plans.”
Producing and promoting videos that wrongfully and dangerously accuse transgender youth of being a threat in schools
Appointing to a state position a social media extremist whose posts have preceded bomb threats in Oklahoma schools, children’s hospitals, and libraries, who also has no educational qualifications and who does not live in Oklahoma
Spreading disinformation about accurate inclusive history in his state, including about the Tulsa Massacre as a racist attack
Walters is also featured in a new report citing state records that show efforts to use Nex Benedict’s death to promote Walters’ profile, again using Oklahoma taxpayer dollars.
Walters’ anti-LGBTQ record and other leadership failures are chronicled in news reports and featured in an ad campaign currently airing in Oklahoma. (View/embed ad here.)
350+ groups signed an open letter urging full investigations of the bullying and death of Nex Benedict and accountability for Ryan Walters. Signatories include faith organizations, health care advocates, one of the world’s largest service unions, educational leaders, as well as LGBTQ, civil and human rights groups.