Florida Department Of Corrections Being Sued By Transgender: Denied Hormone Treatment
A transgender is suing the Florida Department of Corrections for being denied hormone treatments. The transgender claims she was “promised” her hormone therapies when she pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder.
Reiyn Keohane, 22, has filed a lawsuit in a Tallahassee federal court against the Florida Department of Corrections. The suit claims that the transgender has been treated cruelly and refused her hormone treatments that help her avoid depression.
Since being imprisoned, Keohane has been incarcerated with men and has attempted to castrate and kill herself.
In a letter to jail officials, Keohane begged for her hormone treatments.
“This treatment is absolutely necessary to my ability to mentally function. Without it I consider self-harm and suicide every single day. It is the only thing that matters in my life in this moment.”
Keohane pleaded guilty in September 2013 to attempted murder after being promised to be able to continue hormone treatments while incarcerated. She had just started the treatments one month prior to being arrested.
Keohane was arrested when she was 19-years-old after she stabbed her roommate in the throat and chest in Fort Myers, Florida. At the time, Keohane was transitioning from a male to a female, AP reports.
According to a neighbor, John Boatright, Patrick was screaming and begging for help after Keohane was stabbing her.
“She said, ‘help me, help me, I’m dying. I’m going to die. Please, don’t let me die.'”
A second neighbor, Tayaba Barclay, reported seeing Patrick running from her apartment seeking help, knocking on doors, and begging for help.
“She ran from her apartment to her friends over there. There was a trail of blood.”
Fortunately, Patrick was alive to speak about the vicious attack. Doctors didn’t think she would make it and she certainly surprised everyone.
“I’m glad to be here. When you come close to losing your life something as little as sight, like what you can see around you becomes very precious and very valuable. It’s really opened my eyes. I’m just grateful to be alive.”
Keohane has filed the suit on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Transgender Fla. inmate sues to get the hormone treatments she says she was promised when she pleaded guilty. https://t.co/kx0xwLfkhO
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 15, 2016
Also mentioned in the lawsuit, Keohane has been refused women’s underwear after she was moved to a different prison, claiming the jail officials refused to send them with her.
Keohane wrote a second letter of complaint to the jail officials.
“I am a transgender female and am not comfortable wearing male underwear. It is a discrimination on the basis of sex or gender to force a person to act in a certain way because of their sex.”
Keohane began seeing therapists at the age of 13, claiming she felt as if she was born the wrong gender. At the age of 14, Keohane began dressing like a girl and legally changed her name by the time she was 17. When she was 19, just one month before being arrested, she began hormone therapy.
The question that arises is, did the Florida Department of Corrections violate her rights?
According to the first paragraph in Keohane’s complaint, she feels as if they have violated her rights according to the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution for not allowing her to be treated for her “serious medical need,” Gender Dysphoria.”
The complaint also revealed that Keohane is serving a 15-year sentence at the Everglades Correction Institution.
It is reported that the Florida Department of Corrections has not yet received the complaint. Take a look at the complaint for yourself.
In her own words, Reiyn Keohane describes the discrimination she faces as a trans woman. https://t.co/x6XZDq5lqZ pic.twitter.com/dQCTL7JpkW
— ACLU of Florida (@ACLUFL) August 15, 2016
[Image via Shutterstock]
