A federal judge has ruled that it would be unconstitutional for an Indiana prison to deny a transgender inmate sex reassignment surgery following the inmate’s lawsuit against the facility.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the Indiana Department of Corrections last year on behalf of a transgender inmate, Jonathan C. Richardson, also known as Autumn Cordellionè, who was convicted of strangling his 11-month-old stepdaughter to death in 2001.
Indiana law, however, prohibits the Department of Corrections from using taxpayer dollars to fund sex reassignment surgeries for inmates. However, the ACLU argues in the lawsuit, filed on Aug. 28, 2023, that the law is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment.”
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The surgery for Richardson, who is serving out a 55-year prison sentence for reckless homicide, “is a medical necessity,” according to the ACLU lawsuit.
Judge Richard Young agreed with the ACLU’s claims and ruled in favor of Cordellioné last week.
“Specifically, Ms. Cordellioné has shown that her gender dysphoria is a serious medical need, and that, despite other treatments Defendant has provided her to treat her gender dysphoria, she requires gender-affirming surgery to prevent a risk of serious bodily and psychological harm,” the ruling states.
The DOC must now take “all reasonable actions” to ensure Cordellioné undergoes sex surgery, according to the order.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, said in a post on X that his office is still reviewing the judge’s decision, “but you can undoubtedly expect our office to appeal this decision.”
“An Indiana inmate convicted of murder wants our taxpayers to fund their gender-altering surgery! Hoosiers do NOT want thism” Rokita said.
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The original ACLU filing says Cordellioné was diagnosed in 2020 with gender dysphoria and prescribed female hormones and testosterone blockers, both of which he has “consistently taken since that time.” Other accommodations provided for the inmate include “panties, make up, and form fitting clothing.”
“Accordingly, at this point gender-affirming surgery is necessary so that her physical identity can be aligned with her gender identity and so her gender dysphoria can be ameliorated,” the lawsuit states.
“She believes that the only remedy for her persistent gender dysphoria, and the serious harm it causes her, is to receive gender-affirming surgery, specifically an orchiectomy and vaginoplasty,” it said.
Cordellioné has identified as a woman since 6 years old, the ACLU lawsuit also claims, and the inmate is “a woman trapped in a man’s body.”
According to court documents, Cordellioné strangled his then-wife’s 11-month-year old daughter to death while she was at work on Sept. 12, 2001. During RCordellioné’s initial interview with one of the detectives, he was calm and “unemotional” when recounting what happened, court documents from Indiana’s Court of Appeals show.
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In a separate lawsuit last year, Cordellioné filed a civil lawsuit against the prison chaplain for allegedly prohibiting him from wearing a hijab outside his immediate bed quarters, despite identifying as a Muslim woman.
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