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| Inmate at women's prison is discovered to be a man |
| By The Courier-Journal |
| Published: 11/07/2003 |
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An inmate at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women was moved to an isolation cell Monday after the prisoner said he is a man and a physical examination verified it. Billie Jo Hawks, 43, of Battletown, had been admitted to the women's prison near Pewee Valley on Oct.22 and was housed in a dorm with female inmates. For eight months before that, Hawks was held in the women's section of the Meade County Detention Center on convictions of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance and cultivating marijuana. Lisa Lamb, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said she was prohibited by federal law protecting the privacy of health information from disclosing details about the physical exam of Hawks on Monday. Lamb said Hawks was placed in a segregation cell pending a decision on a permanent assignment. All inmates are subject to a thorough strip search as part of the admission process to any state prison to ensure no contraband is brought into prison, Lamb said. As for how Hawks' organ went unnoticed earlier, Lamb said, "All we can say for now is that clearly procedures were not followed in the admission of this inmate." Lamb said corrections officials are investigating the matter for possible disciplinary action against personnel involved in searching and admitting Hawks to the prison. The physical examination on Monday was conducted as part of a policy that all inmates receive such an exam within two weeks of admission. Lamb said that before the examination, Hawks told the nurse practitioner conducting it that he is a man. Lamb said the exam confirmed that Hawks has a penis. Lamb said Hawks was convicted in February in Meade Circuit Court of the trafficking and cultivating marijuana charges and was sentenced to six years in prison. |
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