Inmate Sues for Sex Change

[rosco rathbone]

I just read in the New York tabloids that a gay man, serving 50-to-life for a brutal murder on Long Island, is beginning a lawsuit against the state. He suffers gender dysphoria and charges that it is a case of cruel and unusual punishment to be forced to carry out his sentence as a man. He seeks full gender reassignment at taxpayer's expense and to serve the rest of his time in a woman's prison.

I was interested to learn that inmates who are hormone therapy at the time of their conviction are allowed to continue on the hormones at taxpayer expense-it is apparently seen as a medical neccesity, the denial of which would be cruel and unusual. This would seem to give some credibility to this case; although I don't think he was on the hormones at the time of his crime.

Apparently, many inmates on hormones are left in the general population of males; only those whose appearance is a judged a risk to their safety (and a cause of trouble amongst lustful inmates, I suppose) are placed in administrative segregation.

I think most people would say that the wannabe TS is just SOL morally and legally. Anyone disagree?

 

[SweetCherry]

I'd vote SOL. Sounds like those who sue because they're not allowed to have a lobster dinner once a month or something, to me. If it were a matter of the taxpayers were obligated to pay for ops of any prisoners who suffered from gender dysphoria, I'm betting there'd be a LOT of desperate or disreputable people who couldn't afford the op themselves committing crimes just to be able to get it done on the tax payers' pocketbooy.

Just my opinion.

 

[LarzMachine]

I'd vote SOL. Sounds like those who sue because they're not allowed to have a lobster dinner once a month or something, to me. If it were a matter of the taxpayers were obligated to pay for ops of any prisoners who suffered from gender dysphoria, I'm betting there'd be a LOT of desperate or disreputable people who couldn't afford the op themselves committing crimes just to be able to get it done on the tax payers' pocketbooy.

Just my opinion.

I think that actually happened a while back when it first went on the books that hormone therapy had to be continued for inmates. Apparently transgender crime skyrocketed as people would commit fairly serious crimes in order to save a chunk of cash for their hormone treatments and related stuff, then finish the SRS after they were released. Read about it in Hustler or Penthouse's news section a few years ago, but I have no idea which issue.

 

[Etoile]

Dammit, I already made a response on this topic, but I can't remember where. It was eloquent and thoughtful and I can't figure out where I said it! I don't see that it's any other Lit thread, but I don't know...maybe it was on a friend's blog, or something. I have no idea. I even had a great response to an ignorant person who had posted above me!

Basically, my opinion is that if the guy has ulterior motives for wanting to get out of where he is now, this will be figured out early on. One of the most important parts of the transitioning process is the psychotherapy, and any therapist worth their salt will recognize that the guy doesn't actually have GID.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Dammit, I already made a response on this topic, but I can't remember where. It was eloquent and thoughtful and I can't figure out where I said it! I don't see that it's any other Lit thread, but I don't know...maybe it was on a friend's blog, or something. I have no idea. I even had a great response to an ignorant person who had posted above me!

Basically, my opinion is that if the guy has ulterior motives for wanting to get out of where he is now, this will be figured out early on. One of the most important parts of the transitioning process is the psychotherapy, and any therapist worth their salt will recognize that the guy doesn't actually have GID.

OK. Let's say that the state-appointed therapist is competent and decides that the inmate DOES have GID. I see no reason why this should be an impossibility. What then?

 

[rosco rathbone]

Etoile, surely you don't propose that someone would undergo full gender reassignment just to get into a different prison??

Or maybe they would, fuck, I dunno.

 

[Netzach]

I know you can't play the law game like this

I'd be more inclined to say sure, whatever, had his crime not included offing people. There are some people who don't deserve the space they take up or much of anything beyond what will keep them alive...and imprisoned...for the duration of their natural lives.

 

[JeanetteLv2]

Hmmmph.. maybe if HMOs, medical insurance companies and government medical coverage actually didn't discriminate against transgender people we wouldn't even have to consider such a thing as committing a crime to get the much needed medical coverage.