http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/01/17/3182501/federal-appeals-court-cruel-unusual-punishment-deny-transgender-inmates-surgery/
A panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on Friday in favor of Massachusetts transgender inmate Michelle Kosilek, affirming a lower court ruling that she deserves the sex reassignment surgery (SRS) her doctors have prescribed.The epic ruling details Kosilek’s 20-year struggle to obtain the proper treatment and the lengths that the Massachusetts Department of Corrections (DOC) have gone to delay allowing her to receive it — a violation of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which forbids “cruel and unusual punishment.”The decision, itself, represents further delay, because the DOC appealed the lower court decision to again avoid allowing Kosilek to obtain the treatment that her doctors had deemed “medically necessary.”In their appeal, the DOC challenged two points made by the lower court: 1) that denying Kosilek sex reassignment surgery constituted unconstitutionally “inadequate medical care” and 2) that the DOC was not deliberately indifferent to her need for treatment.
IMO it's cruel and unusual treatment and they are the sadistic jailers, are they afraid of losing her to a female facility, as to her jail breaking why she would be getting what she wanted that's just stupid and bigoted.
indifferent indeed and add insensitive and biased just another denial of LGB&T person.
n defense of its second challenge, the DOC argued that it had significant security concerns relating to Kosilek both traveling to receive the surgery — that she might be a flight risk — and reintegrating into the prison — that she would either be a victim if she continued to serve in the men’s prison or a threat and a flight risk if she were placed into a women’s prison. The majority dismissed the first argument outright:The likelihood of Kosilek, who has been transported to multiple doctor’s appointments without issue, fleeing while traveling to receive the surgery that she has dedicated decades of her life to obtaining is improbable enough that we need say nothing more. Almost equally as unlikely is the idea that a now sixty-four year old, post-surgical, recovering Kosilek would be able to escape when being transported back to prison.Moreover, the Court was unconvinced that the DOC’s supposed security concerns held any merit, particularly because Kosilek already openly identifies as female in the prison without issue:First, Kosilek has been housed safely while living as a woman — wearing female clothing, using female cosmetics, and taking female hormones that caused her to develop breasts and a feminine body shape — in the general population at MCI-Norfolk for many years… Once an actual security review was done, then Superintendent Spencer reported that there were no current security concerns with Kosilek being provided estrogen therapy. And no security issues ended up cropping up after that. The DOC’s about-face calls into question their present stance with regard to the impact of surgery.
ok given the situation and i assume mental status as a result of denial and what she wanted and what she was, i can't imagime in any way how that might feel except by the logic ofher scenario and resistance by DOC in the face of so many professionals giving a green light. as far as her running again she's been on several identical trips no problem, so what the fuss?
