Colorado could become the first state to build separate prison units for transgender felons
Colorado GOP chair calls consent decree ‘an outrageous situation’.
Colorado could become the first US state to have segregated cells for transgender inmates if a court approves the plan.
Fox News Digital reports that a judge will soon rule on the consent decree, which would include surgical sex-changes and hormone treatments, to be implemented at the Colorado Department of Corrections.
A consent decree is a court-ordered agreement to settle a legal dispute. It would require that all trans women in CDOC, whether they are currently there or have been in the past, receive $2.1 million, depending on how severe the assaults, harassment and discrimination were. The rewards could range between $1,000 and $10,000 per plaintiff.
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Fox News Digital obtained court documents that show several of the plaintiffs who are seeking approval for the consent decree currently serve life without parole in prison for homicide or assault.
Keith Rivers (46), also known as Cupcake, is serving a lifetime sentence for the 1999 murder of a man outside a bar. According to the class-action lawsuit, Rivers revealed that she was transgender in 2004, and made “numerous” requests for surgery to treat her gender dysphoria, which were denied. “She longs for competent talking therapy to address her gender dysphoria.”
Andre Karpierz (also known as “Lavinya”), 47, is serving a similar sentence of life without parole for murder in the first degree. Karpierz, 47, is currently held at the Denver Womens Correctional Facility according to CDOC Records.
Karpierz, according to the class action lawsuit, began hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in 2016. She “continues [to suffer] from severe depression due to her [gender-dysphoria]” and “has lived in constant terror of being raped at male facilities.”
Jordan Gallentine (Jane), 33, also serves prison time for “attempted suicidal by police” and assault. Gallentine, according to the lawsuit, “lives in constant anxiety and depression because of lack of medical care, lack mental health treatment and a persistent worry of sexual assault or violent death.”
Corwin Raven (also known as Kandice), 35, is serving time in prison for two assault charges. He is due to be released from prison in 2026. Raven, according to court documents “has tried suicide twice and selfcastration to cope with her severe gender-dysphoria.”
The lawsuit claims that CDOC has denied her numerous requests for surgery related to transition.
In a Fox News Digital statement, a spokesperson from CDOC said that they “anticipate[a] decision will occur soon but there isn’t a specific timeline” for its finalization.
The court documents state that the decree “substantially improved the medical and psychological care provided” for plaintiffs, protected them from “cross-gender searches” and allowed them to access women’s canteen products (such as makeup), required CDOC to identify transgender prisoners appropriately, and “improved training” on transgender topics to CDOC staff and medical and mental providers.
Colorado is not the first state that has expanded its facilities to include surgical sex change or hormone treatment for transgender people. In Washington, a similar case last year led to the requirement that these treatments be provided to inmates. This week, the Department of Justice found that Utah’s corrections system discriminated against transgender inmates by refusing to provide hormone therapy.
Dave Williams, Colorado Republican Party Chairman, said that the consent decree is another step taken by the “woke left” to “upend our criminal justice system.”
Williams, Fox News Digital. “We are making accommodations for people that we shouldn’t make accommodations for.” This is an outrageous situation.
Williams stated that taxpaying citizens shouldn’t foot the bill for these people to feel better about themselves. “Especially if the person has committed homicide.”
The decree would bring about several changes. The first step would be to create two separate housing facilities for transgender inmates.
The original lawsuit was filed by more than 100 transwomen in CDOC. It alleged that the CDOC had “exposed” them to sexual assault and harassment as well as other forms of violence at the hands guards.
According to Paula Greisen one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs the decree “is designed to bring new safety precautions to protect these women against victimization in men’s prisons.”
Greisen said that Fox News Digital, the decree will also “allow class members to transition into gender-affirming accommodation at the women’s facilities and ensure necessary medical and mental healthcare treatment.”
She said, “These changes are supported by the entire transgender community and we’re all confident that the Court is going to sign the decree.”
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