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| Inmate sues prison for sex change and hormone treatments |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/01/2003 |
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A federal magistrate has ruled that a transsexual inmate can sue State Prison employees as individuals, not as officials, for failing to provide her with hormone replacement therapy and a sex-reassignment operation. Lisa Barrett, 28, of Laconia, who is biologically male, says denying her the sex reassignment and hormones is neglect because prison officials knew she might kill or mutilate herself if not treated. Magistrate James Muirhead recommended dismissal of Barrett's suit against the prison workers in an "official capacity." The constitution, Muirhead said, bars lawsuits against state entities unless the Legislature permits it, which has not been done in this case. While in prison, Barrett attempted suicide and self-castration, according to court documents. Department of Corrections spokesman Jeff Lyons said the prison does not comment on pending litigation. Barrett, who was processed as Christopher Robert St. John, has been in prison since 1994, serving sentences for crimes ranging from burglary and assault to resisting a police officer. Muirhead said in the court opinion that though Barrett was born male, she is psychologically and emotionally female and has lived as a female since she was 17. Barrett said she suffers from gender identity disorder, which, according to court documents, is a "serious condition recognized by the medical community that frequently requires treatment." Barrett began receiving female hormones in the early 1990s. When she was in Belknap County jail before her trial, the medical department there provided her with hormones. The suit specifically accuses Warden Jane Coplan with neglecting Barrett in the State Prison. Coplan rejected Barrett's request to be housed in the women's prison and said she could not dress like a woman because it put her in danger of assault, according to court documents. Barrett also named the prison commissioner and prison medical personnel. |
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