The State of Indiana will have to pay for gender-affirming surgery of a transgender inmate who killed a baby.
United States District Court Judge Richard Young ruled that Autumn Cordellioné, who was born Jonathan C. Richardson, had been subjected to ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ after being denied plastic surgery to reaffirm her gender, according to the ACLU, who filed the suit.
Young ordered the Department of Corrections must provide Cordellioné the surgery at the earliest opportunity.
‘Today marks a significant victory for transgender individuals in Indiana’s prisons,’ ACLU of Indiana’s Legal Director, Ken Falk, said in a statement. ‘Denying evidence-based medical care to incarcerated people simply because they are transgender is unconstitutional. We are pleased that the Court agreed.’
The transgender inmate is currently serving a 55-year prison sentence for killing a baby.
She admitted to killing ‘the little f**king b*tch’ after she was arrested for the strangulation death of her 11-month-old stepdaughter.
United States District Court Judge Richard Young ruled that Autumn Cordellioné, who was born Jonathan C. Richardson, had been subjected to ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ after being denied plastic surgery to reaffirm her gender
Young (pictured) found that the surgery was ‘medically necessary,’ and Indiana must provide the surgery to the inmate at the earliest opportunity
Young found that the surgery was ‘medically necessary,’ and denying her the medical care violated her Eighth and Fourteen Amendment rights, according to court documents.
The Eighth Amendment protects citizens from cruel punishments, while the Fourteenth provides equal protection to all citizens under the law.
‘Ms. Cordellioné has shown that injunctive relief is necessary,’ the judge wrote. ‘There is no dispute that gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition under the objective prong.’
Young said Cordellioné was at a ‘substantial risk of irreparable injury absent of injunctive relief’ and without surgery, she may engaging in self-harm, including ‘another attempt to castrate herself or to die by suicide,’ court documents said.
The inmate has been evaluated by doctors to determine her need for the surgery, which Young stated is ‘medically necessary to alleviate the serious and debilitating symptoms of her gender dysphoria.’
‘It is appropriate for the court to order at this point that this surgery be provided to her at the earliest opportunity,’ Young wrote.
Cordellioné’s depression and borderline personality disorder were said to be not contributing factors to deny her access to the medical operation.
Young also said he was aware finding a surgeon to preform the risky surgery on the inmate ‘may take time’ as the state may have to hire a doctor who is not affiliated with the DOC.
