Colorado is poised to change into the primary state within the nation with segregated holding cells for transgender girls in jail, if a choose indicators off on it.
After a class action lawsuit was filed by a number of transgender inmates in 2019 towards the Colorado Division of Corrections (CDOC) alleging discrimination, harassment and assault, a choose is scheduled to rule on a consent decree that might deliver additional adjustments – together with surgical intercourse adjustments and hormone remedy – to the state’s penitentiary, Fox Information Digital has realized.
The consent decree, a court-ordered settlement in a authorized dispute, would additionally require all trans girls at the moment or beforehand in CDOC to obtain a $2.1 million payout, relying on the severity of the alleged assault, discrimination and harassment whereas in jail. Rewards may vary from $1,000 to $10,000 per plaintiff.
From left to proper: Corwin Raven, Keith Rivers, Andre Karpierz, and Jordan Gallentine. (Courtesy of CDOC)
A number of of the plaintiffs searching for judicial approval of the consent decree are at the moment serving life with out parole for homicide and assault, in response to court docket paperwork obtained by Fox Information Digital.
Keith Rivers, 46, now generally known as “Cupcake” is at the moment serving a life sentence for murdering a sufferer outdoors of a tavern in 1999. In line with the category motion lawsuit, Rivers got here out as transgender in 2004 and has made “numerous requests for surgical treatment for her gender dysphoria,” which have been denied, “and she longs for competent talk therapy related to her gender dysphoria.”
One other plaintiff, Andre Karpierz, who goes by “Lavinya,” 47, can also be serving a life sentence with out the opportunity of parole for first diploma homicide. Karpierz is at the moment being held within the Denver Womens Correctional Facility, in response to CDOC data.
The category motion lawsuit states Karpierz started hormone substitute remedy in 2016 and “continues to suffer from severe depression related to her [gender dysphoria] and has lived in constant fear of being raped in the male facilities.”
Jordan Gallentine, generally known as “Jane,” 33, can also be serving jail time for “attempted suicide by cop” and assault. In line with the lawsuit, Gallentine “lives in a constant state of severe anxiety and depression due to lack of medical treatment, lack of mental health treatment, and a persistent fear of sexual assault and a violent death.”
Transgender insurance policies have been criticizes amid the disproportionate violent crime price amongst transgender girls compared to organic females. (Fox Information Digital)
Plaintiff Corwin Raven, 35, generally known as “Kandice,” is at the moment serving time for 2 separate assault expenses and is scheduled to be launched in 2026. In line with court docket paperwork, Raven “has attempted suicide twice and attempted selfcastration as a means to deal with her severe gender dysphoria.”
“Her numerous requests for transition-related surgery have been denied by CDOC,” the lawsuit alleges.
A spokesperson for CDOC advised Fox Information Digital in an announcement they “anticipate [a decision] will happen soon, but there is no specific timeline,” for its finalization.
In line with court docket paperwork, the decree “substantially improves the medical and mental health care provided” to plaintiffs and guards them “from cross-gender searches … access to women’s canteen items (such as cosmetics), requires CDOC to appropriately identify” transgender inmates, “and provides improved training on transgender issues to CDOC staff, medical and mental health providers, and leadership.”
Colorado is not the primary state to broaden its amenities to incorporate transgender hormone remedy or surgical intercourse adjustments. The same case in Washington final yr resulted within the requirement to supply these identical remedies to inmates. And this week, the Division of Justice dominated Utah’s corrections division discriminated towards a transgender inmate by refusing hormone remedy.
Colorado Republican Social gathering chairman Dave Williams known as the consent decree one other step the “woke left” is taking towards “up-ending our criminal justice system.”
“We’re making accommodations for folks that we shouldn’t be making accommodations for,” Williams advised Fox Information Digital. “This is an outrageous situation.”
“Taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill so these people can feel better about themselves,” Williams stated. “Especially if they’ve committed homicide.”
The decree would enact a number of adjustments. First, it could create two separate housing items for transgender girls inmates: the “Voluntary Transgender Unit” (VTU) on the males’s Sterling Correctional Facility, and the “Integration Unit” (IU) on the Denver Ladies’s Correctional Facility.
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The unique lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of greater than 100 trans girls in CDOC, alleged the CDOC “expose[d] them to harassment, rape, sexual assault, and other violence,” by the hands of guards and different inmates.
In line with one of many attorneys representing the plaintiffs, Paula Greisen, the decree is “designed to bring new safety measures to protect these women from victimization in the men’s prisons.”
Greisen advised Fox Information Digital the decree would additionally “allow the class members to transition to gender affirming housing at the women’s facility, and ensures that necessary medical and mental health treatment will be provided.”
“These changes have the overwhelming support of the transgender community and we are all confident that the Court will sign the decree,” she stated.
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