Trans women detained in men’s prisons address Denver judge ahead of settlement

DENVER (CN) — As part of a $2.1 million class action settlement under review by a Denver judge, Colorado is poised to become the first state in the nation to provide incarcerated transgender women with an intermediary unit, rather than automatically housing them in a men’s or women’s facility.

Led by Kandice Raven, seven trans women sued the state corrections department on Nov. 22, 2019, claiming they were placed in men’s prisons with little protection from sexual assault.

Several of the transgender plaintiffs were raped while in custody, and were denied access to treatment for gender dysphoria, including medication, therapy and surgery.

During a fairness hearing on Thursday, individuals appearing remotely from prisons across the state raised hopes, gratitude and concerns before the court.

“I wanted to say thank you to all the transgender women who showed up, and thank you judge. This bridge will take us up to 2025 when they start housing us in our own unit,” said Crystal Diaz, who is being detained at the Sterling Correctional Facility in northeast Colorado.

Under the consent decree, the state has pledged to create two designated housing units for incarcerated trans women, one with 44 beds in Denver and one with room for 100 in Sterling. Trans women may remain in the special units or move into traditional men’s or women’s facilities according to their needs.

Regardless of placement, the corrections department must provide trans women access to mental and physical healthcare.

“I want to go in these new housing units because I will get the proper treatment, proper programs and they will have a transgender specialist that will know how to treat us transgender women who are incarcerated,” Diaz said.

Others remain skeptical about safety.

Testifying remotely, Promise Sherbondy said she was sexually assaulted at Sterling when she was first incarcerated at the age of 16.

“I wouldn’t be able to partake because I suffer from PTSD from the abuse I suffered there,” she said.

Others expressed concerns about the state’s ability to provide services for trans women when prison staff were already stretched thin for the general population. In addition to lacking education programs, prisons are in dire need of more guards, and falling short of the number of female guards needed to ensure that trans women are strip-searched by women.

Citing the Great Resignation, assistant attorney general Heather Kelly acknowledged the difficulty of hiring and retaining enough prison guards. Still, Kelly considered the settlement a step forward for the state and society as a whole.

“This case to me marks those evolving standards of a civil society,” Kelly said. “But when this case was filed, there were no trans women housed in women’s facilities.”

Civil rights attorney Paula Greisen, who represents the class, pledged to return to court if the state failed to meet its obligations.

“The proposed consent decree addresses every single issue we raised in the complaint,” Greisen said, adding that it was a true negotiation where both sides gave in and both sides gained. 

While the consent decree will provide services to incarcerated trans women, it does not expand rights for all individuals on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, notably leaving out intersex people, who possess physical traits characteristic of both males and females.

“They are disrespecting me because they are not considering my security and safety,” said MaryKay Sapian Condit, an intersex individual who has been incarcerated for more than 40 years.

Kelly clarified that the consent decree is focuses on people who identify as transgender to avoid the units becoming used for all vulnerable populations. Because Condit was identified as a trans woman in the prison system, however, Condit is eligible for the settlement. Other intersex individuals may have to forge their own path down the road.

Although the parties anticipated difficulties in reaching individuals in and out of custody, only about half of the 400 class members eligible to receive a share of the $2.1 million settlement mailed in their forms. Some received paperwork late, others said prison guards confiscated the SASE envelopes because they were not labeled “legal mail.”

To give class members more time to receive notice of the consent decree and opportunity to opt out, the state requested the court hold off on approving or denying the settlement until March.

Judge Dorancy issued an order in September granting preliminary approval, but agreed to the extension, setting a second fairness hearing for March 8. Democratic Governor Jared Polis appointed Dorancy in 2020.

“These kinds of cases can only come with the courage that the individuals experiencing these things have and that they stand up and work with others,” Dorancy said, addressing the individuals who testified. “Thank you for being brave enough to do this and put your life and your story out there to make sure all the individuals in the class have access to these opportunities.”

If approved by the court, the state would have until January 2025 to implement all of the conditions of the consent decree.  

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