Transgender detainee complains of treatment in jail

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - An inmate in the Marion County Jail says she's facing constant discrimination while behind bars. She's transgender, and jail administrators say they're keeping her in isolation for her own protection.

The inmate, who calls herself Kyliah, entered the interview room wearing shackles at her wrist and ankles. While inmates in the general population can walk freely to their work duties and recreation facilities, those held in isolation are shackled when they're escorted from their cells. But Kyliah claims she is shackled by far more than the cuffs that hold her ankles and wrists. She says she's shackled by a system of bigotry and intolerance.

"I feel less than human," said Kyliah.

She claims that she's being treated like an animal, having spent three months alone in a cell, separated from the jail's general population.

Asked if she felt as though she were being punished, she answered: "Yes, for having breasts and for being a transsexual."

22-year old Kyliah was once Christopher Boswell. At 8, she told her mother that she was a girl, and doctors began prescribing estrogen for her at 13 following months of psychological testing. She's now undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

While Kyliah says that she's being held in segregation, the leaders at Marion County Jail have another name for it. They call it protective custody, and they point out that there are other inmates that are being isolated from the general population for their own protection.

"In an attempt to protect someone, the person is isolated to the point where they become depressed and often don't receive medications they're supposed to,” said Vivian Benge, president of the Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance or INTRAA. “There are a lot of problems with that particular approach."

Benge has seen many cases like Kyliah's, and helped take some to court.

But she prefers to work with facilities to help them develop transgender-sensitive policies just as she did at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie after a transgender woman complained bitterly about being ridiculed in the emergency room .

“The hospital worked with us because they were appalled that this had happened at their hospital," said Benge.

As for Kyliah, her trial date is set for the end of August, so she faces another two months of isolation.

"I feel like I should get treated equally," she said.

Marion County Jail is privately run by Corrections Corp. of America. While their company spokesman, Mike Machak, refused to comment on the details of Kyliah's case, he did release the following statement:

"Our goal is always to house inmates in the safest environment possible. This includes professional, individual assessment of both the risk factors of their own unique circumstances and the safety needs of those around them. Such decisions are subject to periodic review, and over the course of an inmate's residence at our facility, alterations are made to housing and program assignments when it is appropriate to do so based on any changes in the inmate's particular circumstances. For security and privacy reasons, we cannot address specific details of an inmate's housing or custody.

"CCA is committed to operating safe, secure facilities with the utmost respect for human rights. Our company does not tolerate discrimination in housing, programs or access to services on the basis of sex or sexual orientation.

"All inmates have access to a robust grievance program, and we weigh carefully every issue that is raised. Inmates who are unsatisfied with the outcome of the grievance process can also take their concerns to our government partner's monitors, who have unfettered access to the facility and its residents.

"The dedicated and professional staff at our facilities - including correctional officers, chaplains, teachers and nurses - bring decades of experience and proven best practices to ensure that inmates reside in a safe, humane environment."