Petrelis Files

Tranny Inmate Raped by
Cellmates Can Sue Guards

I almost missed this article by longtime court and legal reporter Bob Egelko in the SF Chronicle this morning because it was buried on the State News page, surrounded by wire stories.

The problem of sexual assaults in county lockups and federal penitentiaries across America is usually dismissed with a few offensive wisecracks, and a snickering "well, what do you expect" attitude.

I'm writing this post in a small effort to shine some gay blogger attention on the court ruling, and call on gay male and transgender legal advocates to keep informed on cases that uphold or expand protections for inmates at-risk for or experiencing sexual violence, and for gay legal eagles to offer up an opinion on this case.

To learn more about the problem of rape and other forms of sexual bashing in prison, and what is being done to address it, click here and visit the Just Detention web site.

From the Chronicle today:

The state Supreme Court allowed a transgender former prison inmate on Wednesday to proceed with a lawsuit accusing prison guards of failing to protect her from being raped and beaten by her cellmates.

In her suit, Alexis Giraldo said she was being held at Folsom State Prison for shoplifting and a parole violation in January 2006 when a cellmate began assaulting and raping her on a daily basis. She said prison staff ignored her complaints until March 2006, when she was transferred to segregated housing after a second cellmate attacked her with a box-cutter. She was paroled in July 2007.

Prison officials denied failing to protect Giraldo, who was housed at the all-male prison because she had not undergone surgery. A San Francisco jury rejected her emotional-distress claim against six prison employees in August 2007 after the trial judge dismissed her claim of negligence, ruling that guards have no legal duty to protect inmates from harm. ...

Let's stop here for a moment and consider that last part, about the guards are not lawfully bound to stop violations on inmates, of any gender, by another inmate. That's an illogical decision. If it isn't the guard's duty, we as a society are saying it's okay to allow abuse of prisoners while they pay their debt to society. Sexual assault is not part of one's sentence.

Back to the decision yesterday for Alexis Giraldo. In my book, this is a laudable court ruling and I wish her the best in her lawsuit. All prisoners deserve protection from jailhouse predators.

Over at the LegalPad.com, Mike McKee looks at some of the larger ramifications of Giraldo's suit moving forward:

Michele Kane, a public information officer for the Department of Corrections, wasn’t sure what the immediate impact of the court’s denial might be. But she said it probably wouldn’t change the agency’s mission.

"Our primary concern is to provide a safe and secure environment for all inmates," she said today. "CDC considers numerous factors when considering inmate placement. Being transgender doesn’t necessarily warrant a special housing assignment."

Among the factors taken into account, Kane said, are a person’s mental health, medical needs and safety concerns. "And that includes transgender inmates."

Giraldo’s attorney, Gregory Walston of San Francisco, didn’t return a call.