Michael Stipe and Elton John issued a joint statement yesterday condemning the treatment of transgender prisoners in the state of Georgia.
Transgender women in male prisons have an equal right to protection from violence and abuse in prison, yet they continue to face horrific injustices
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The musicians referred to both the situation of Ashley Diamond, linked above, and that of Zahara Green, who was forced to perform oral sex on a prisoner at Rogers State Prison in 2012. When Ms. Green complained, she was placed in protective custody...in the same cell as her abuser. There she was raped repeatedly for 14 hours before a guard came to check on the situation.
The experiences of Ashley Diamond and Zahara Green cast a harsh light on the brutality, torture and horrible conditions inside Georgia prisons today. They are emblematic of the continued discrimination experienced by transgender inmates – who are 13 times more likely to be sexually assaulted while incarcerated.
This is outrageous, and the message it sends is horrific: that violence against and discrimination of trans people is not only allowed, but sanctioned. We applaud the U.S. Department of Justice for supporting Ashley Diamond and the trans community in arguing that Georgia's policy of denying transgender inmates their medically necessary hormone treatment is unconstitutional.
But we must do more to end the culture of violence and discrimination surrounding gender identity and expression. We urge the state of Georgia to embrace desperately needed changes to their correctional system.
--Stipe & John
Stipe is a major supporter of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
There is a hearing today on an emergency motion to move Ashley Diamond immediately to a facility where she would be less likely to be sexually assaulted.
Judge Marc T. Treadwell also asked the GDOC to produce all communications pursuant to Ms. Diamond's transfer to Georgia State Prison, which Ms. Diamond claims was retaliatory.