"David Buckel, 60, was the lead lawyer in a case in which police in Nebraska were found to have failed to protect Brandon Teena, a transgender teen who had been raped and assaulted and was later murdered in the state of Nebraska. Mr Buckel was well known for his legal work on behalf of gay, lesbian and transgender people and later worked with several environmental groups. His remains were found in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. In a suicide note found nearby, Mr Buckel wrote that he had immolated himself using fossil fuel to symbolise what he said was the damage human beings were doing to the Earth."