Department of Justice Files Statement of Interest in Lawsuit from Transgender Inmate

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in a lawsuit brought in Georgia claiming that the denial of transgender care violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“People with gender dysphoria should be able to seek the full protections of the American with Disabilities Act [sic], just like other people with disabilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are committed to ensuring constitutional conditions inside our jails and prisons so that those detained inside these facilities, including people with gender dysphoria can live safely and receive needed medical care. The U.S. Constitution requires that people incarcerated in jails and prisons receive necessary medical care, treatment and services to address serious medical conditions.”

The lawsuit alleges that the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) violated a transgender inmate’s rights under the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and the U.S. Constitution by denying treatment for transgenderism.

“The protections of the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act do not stop at the doorsteps of our jails and prisons,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “Our office remains committed to ensuring that all people with disabilities, including those with gender dysphoria, continue to receive access to such medically necessary treatments, even while they are in custody.”

In another case from Missouri, Kelly McSean, a transgender inmate convicted of rape and pedophilia, has filed a civil rights lawsuit after being denied female undergarments at the St. Francois County Jail and South Missouri Mental Health Center.

A sexually violent offender is back in custody after managing to escape from a jailhouse in Missouri.

Kelly McSean, who identifies as "female," has a decades-long history of raping and abusing women and children as young as 8. https://t.co/3J6h40T4Vx

— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) January 22, 2023

McSean has been awaiting trial after escaping jail and attacking sex offender treatment program staff, and he has a long rap sheet of offenses going back to his teen years, having raped both boys and girls, going in and out of jail, until his eventual imprisonment. Recently, he has claimed discrimination for not being given his desired undergarments, which the ACLU has backed. Per Reduxx:

Though McSean is alleging various forms of mistreatment, the majority of his complaints appear to stem from his inability to access “gender affirming” items and treatments, most notably women’s undergarments. He also takes issue with being “misgendered” and “demeaned” while in custody, and having been treated as a male despite his state and prison documentation listing him as a “female.”

McSean has similarly alleged sexual harassment, with these claims stemming from “misgendering” incidents, “discrimination on the basis of sex,” and routine searches not being conducted in the fashion he demands. He has also claimed he was “sexually assaulted” during a strip-search, emphasizing that his penis and “breasts” had been exposed to male officers.

McSean has claimed that these incidents have caused him severe anxiety, nightmares, high blood pressure, and loss of appetite, amounting to alleged damages between $50,000 to $100,000. In one complaint, McSean claimed that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had intervened on his behalf.

“After being informed that the ACLU and an attorney has contacted the St. Francois county detention center of [sic] the constitutional rights of transgender persons, I submitted an inmate request form as to the status of ability to purchase and have female undergarments,” he wrote in August of last year.