WashingtonCityPaper.com – Posted by Jason Cherkis
Today, the D.C. Department of Corrections issued a “program statement” establishing new procedures in how it classifies and houses transgendered inmates at the D.C. Jail. This is a huge step, and a surprisingly progressive step for the D.C. Jail. In a letter obtained by Washington City Paper, AG Peter Nickles wrote to to the D.C. Prisoners’ Project of the new regs:
“Pursuant to this policy, the District Will be one of only a few jurisdictions in the nation to permit transgender inmates to be housed according to their gender identity in appropriate cases, and to allow transgender inmates to initiate hormone therapy while in custody.
These provisions, along with other aspects of the policy, will help to ensure that the rights of transgender prisoners are respected and that their unique needs are accommodated, to the extent practicable, while they are incarcerated.”