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Breaking news, judge orders taxpayers to foot the gender surgery bill for savage baby killer who identifies as muslim woman.

A federal judge has ruled that it would be unconstitutional for an Indiana prison to deny a transgender inmate sex reassignment surgery following the inmate’s lawsuit against the facility.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the Indiana Department of Corrections last year on behalf of a transgender inmate, Jonathan C. Richardson , also known as Autumn Cordellionè, who was convicted of strangling his 11-month-old stepdaughter to death in 2001.

Indiana law, however, prohibits the Department of Corrections from using taxpayer dollars to fund sex reassignment surgeries for inmates.

However, the ACLU argues in the lawsuit, filed on Aug. 28, 2023, that the law is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment.”

The surgery for Richardson, who is serving out a 55-year prison sentence for reckless homicide, “is a medical necessity,” according to the ACLU lawsuit.

Judge Richard Young agreed with the ACLU’s claims and ruled in favor of Cordellioné last week.

A federal judge ruled that the Indiana Department of Corrections must provide a transgender inmate Jonathan C. Richardson, also known as Autumn Cordellionè, a sex reassignment surgery.

“Specifically, Ms. Cordellioné has shown that her gender dysphoria is a serious medical need, and that, despite other treatments Defendant has provided her to treat her gender dysphoria, she requires gender-affirming surgery to prevent a risk of serious bodily and psychological harm,” the ruling states.

The DOC must now take “all reasonable actions” to ensure Cordellioné undergoes sex surgery, according to the order.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, said in a post on X that his office is still reviewing the judge’s decision, “but you can undoubtedly expect our office to appeal this decision.”

“An Indiana inmate convicted of murder wants our taxpayers to fund their gender-altering surgery! Hoosiers do NOT want this” Rokita said.

The original ACLU filing says Cordellioné was diagnosed in 2020 with gender dysphoria and prescribed female hormones and testosterone blockers, both of which he has “consistently taken since that time.” Other accommodations provided for the inmate include “panties, make up, and form fitting clothing.”

“Accordingly, at this point gender-affirming surgery is necessary so that her physical identity can be aligned with her gender identity and so her gender dysphoria can be ameliorated,” the lawsuit states.

“She believes that the only remedy for her persistent gender dysphoria, and the serious harm it causes her, is to receive gender-affirming surgery, specifically an orchiectomy and vaginoplasty,” it said.

Cordellioné has identified as a woman since 6 years old, the ACLU lawsuit also claims, and the inmate is “a woman trapped in a man’s body.”

According to court documents , Cordellioné strangled his then-wife’s 11-month-year old daughter to death while she was at work on Sept. 12, 2001.

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During Cordellioné’s initial interview with one of the detectives, he was calm and “unemotional” when recounting what happened, court documents from Indiana’s Court of Appeals show.

In a separate lawsuit last year, Cordellioné filed a civil lawsuit against the prison chaplain for allegedly prohibiting him from wearing a hijab outside his immediate bed quarters, despite identifying as a Muslim woman.

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Indiana murderer to get taxpayer-funded sex change after court ruling.

A federal judge in Indiana ordered the state to pay for the sex change operation of an imprisoned murderer who came to identify as transgender while behind bars.

U.S. District Judge Richard Young issued a ruling last week that a 2023 state law barring prisons from carrying out the gender-swapping surgery violated inmate Autumn Cordellioné’s Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment.

Judge Young said Cordellioné has shown that “her gender dysphoria is a serious medical need, and that, despite other treatments Defendant has provided her to treat her gender dysphoria, she requires gender-affirming surgery to prevent a risk of serious bodily and psychological harm.”

The American Civil Liberties Union argued the case on behalf of Cordellioné, who has been in prison since 2002 for murdering a child.

The Evansville Courier & Press reported that Cordellioné, who used to go by Jonathan Richardson, was found guilty of smothering her 11-month-old stepdaughter.

Five police officers and jail staffers testified during the trial that Cordellioné yelled out “I killed the little f——— b——” while being held in a cell.

A forensic examiner said bruises were found on the child’s body, and prosecutors argued Cordellioné was the only person with the girl hours before her death.

Cordellioné was sentenced to 55 years in prison. Court documents said she could be released as early as December 2027.

The ruling urges Indiana’s Department of Corrections to conduct the surgery at the “earliest opportunity.”

The filing said Cordellioné was diagnosed in 2020 with gender dysphoria — distress felt when someone’s gender expression does not match their gender identity.

The killer has been taking estrogen supplements and testosterone blockers since then. With the order in effect, Cordellioné plans to have her testicles removed and to have an artificial vagina constructed.

The ACLU argued in its lawsuit that Cordellioné has attempted suicide because “she could not stand the fact that her sex at birth fails to match the fact that she is a woman and cannot tolerate her male body.”

“Today marks a significant victory for transgender individuals in Indiana’s prisons,” Ken Falk, the ACLU of Indiana legal director, said in response to the ruling. “Denying evidence-based medical care to incarcerated people simply because they are transgender is unconstitutional.”

In a separate case, Cordellioné is suing a jail chaplain for not allowing the inmate to wear a hijab outside her cell.

Cordellioné identifies as an “Islamic practicing transwoman,” according to the court documents acquired by the Courier & Press.

The chaplain countered by saying Department of Corrections records show Cordellioné previously identified as Wiccan — a pagan religion focused on the worship of nature.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at [email protected] .

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Convicted killer gets sex-reassignment surgery on taxpayer's dime

SACRAMENTO, CA -- A 57-year-old convicted killer serving a life sentence in California became the first U.S. inmate to receive state-funded sex-reassignment surgery, the prisoner's attorneys confirmed Friday to The Associated Press.

California prison officials agreed in August 2015 to pay for the surgery for Shiloh Heavenly Quine, who was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery for ransom and has no possibility of parole.

"For too long, institutions have ignored doctors and casually dismissed medically necessary and life-saving care for transgender people just because of who we are," said Kris Hayashi, executive director of the Transgender Law Center, which represents Quine and other transgender inmates.

Hayashi said the surgery fulfills a landmark legal settlement and is a victory for "all transgender people who have ever been denied the medical care we need."

Quine's case led the state to become the first to set standards for transgender inmates to apply to receive state-funded sex-reassignment surgery. Her case prompted a federal magistrate to provide transgender female inmates housed in men's facilities with items such as nightgowns, scarves and necklaces.

Lacking cosmetics, she had her eyelids tattooed blue and her eyebrows and lashes tattooed black.

Quine previously wrote that her presence in the men's prison creates "confusion and mixed emotions from the males that go from romantic thoughts to disgust and explosive turmoil reactions." She will be moved to a women's prison following the operation, which was performed at a hospital in San Francisco, her attorneys said.

The daughter of Quine's victim said she objects to inmates getting taxpayer-funded surgery that is not readily available to non-criminals, regardless of the cost.

"My dad begged for his life," said Farida Baig, who tried unsuccessfully to block Quine's surgery through the courts. "It just made me dizzy and sick. I'm helping pay for his surgery; I live in California. It's kind of like a slap in the face."

Quine and an accomplice kidnapped and fatally shot 33-year-old Shahid Ali Baig, a father of three, in downtown Los Angeles in February 1980, stealing $80 and his car during a drug- and alcohol-fueled rampage.

California was legally required to pay for the operation, corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton said.

"The Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution requires that prisons provide inmates with medically necessary treatment for medical and mental health conditions, including inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria," Thornton said in a written statement.

Corrections officials fought for years to avoid paying for sex-reassignment surgeries. In one high-profile case, the state paroled Michelle-Lael Norsworthy in 2015, just one day before a federal appeals court was to hear her request for state-funded surgery.

Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the federal court-appointed official who controls California's prison medical care, said the cost of sex-reassignment surgeries could approach $100,000, including procedures and medications before and after the operation. The Transgender Law Center said that figure is exaggerated.

A portion of the state's expense will generally be reimbursed by the federal government, sometimes up to 95 percent, Hayhoe said.

Since the state approved its policy, officials have received 64 other inmate requests for sex-reassignment surgeries, and four have been approved.

Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, which supports crime victims, said there are not enough operations to make a big dent in the corrections budget, though he does not think the state should fund them.

For Quine, the procedure marks the end of a years-long quest. She says in court documents that she has thought of herself as female since age 9. But she was raised in the 1970s to be "a real man" and went on to marry and divorce two women and father two daughters.

Quine told a prison psychologist who recommended her for the operation that it would bring a "drastic, internal completeness."

She expects it will end a dysfunction and depression so deep that she tried to cut and hang herself in prison five times, most recently in 2014 when she was initially told she could not have the operation.

Quine said she tried unsuccessfully to amputate her genitalia when she was about 19, three years before she went to prison and roughly the same time she tried self-medicating with illegally purchased female hormones.

The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that 3,200 transgender inmates are housed in U.S. prisons and jails.

A judge ordered Massachusetts in 2012 to provide an inmate with sex-reassignment surgery, but the decision was overturned on appeal.

The best known case may be that of Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst serving a 35-year sentence at a military prison for leaking government documents to WikiLeaks. The Army agreed last year to pay for hormone treatments for Manning, previously known as Bradley.

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California funds 1st U.S. inmate sex reassignment surgery

January 6, 2017 / 3:08 PM EST / AP

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A 57-year-old convicted killer serving a life sentence in California became the first U.S. inmate to receive state-funded sex-reassignment surgery, the prisoner’s attorneys confirmed Friday to The Associated Press.

Quine’s case led the state to become the first to set standards that will allow other transgender inmates to apply to receive state-funded sex-reassignment surgery. It also prompted a federal magistrate to require California to provide transgender female inmates housed in men’s facilities with more female-oriented items such as nightgowns, scarves and necklaces.

“For too long, institutions have ignored doctors and casually dismissed medically necessary and life-saving care for transgender people just because of who we are,” said Kris Hayashi, executive director of the Transgender Law Center, which represents Quine and other transgender inmates.

Completion of the surgery not only fulfills a landmark legal settlement but marks a victory “for all transgender people who have ever been denied the medical care we need,” Hayashi said.

Quine will be moved to a women’s prison after the operation, which was performed at a hospital in San Francisco, her attorneys said.

Quine told a prison psychologist who recommended her for the operation that it would bring a “drastic, internal completeness.”

She and an accomplice are serving life terms for kidnapping and fatally shooting 33-year-old Shahid Ali Baig in downtown Los Angeles in February 1980, stealing $80 and his car during a drug- and alcohol-fueled rampage.

Baig left behind two young daughters and a son.

Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the federal court-appointed official who controls California’s prison medical care, said the cost of sex-reassignment surgeries could approach $100,000, including procedures and medications before and after the operation.

Attorneys at the Oakland-based Transgender Law Center said that figure is exaggerated.

A portion of the state’s expense will generally be reimbursed by the federal government, Hayhoe said. The percentage varies depending on individual circumstances, but it can cover up to 95 percent of allowable charges.

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California inmate receives state-funded sex-reassignment surgery

An inmate in California this week became the first person in the U.S. to receive state-funded sex reassignment surgery while incarcerated.

Shiloh Heavenly Quine, a transgender woman, was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery in 1981. In August 2015, the state of California said it would fund the surgery as a medically necessary treatment for Quine’s gender dysphoria.

Quine received the surgery at a San Francisco hospital on Thursday. Following her discharge from the hospital, she will be moved to a women’s prison, according to Reuters .

“For too long, institutions have ignored doctors and casually dismissed medically necessary and life-saving care for transgender people just because of who we are,” Kris Hayashi, executive director of the Transgender Law Center, which represents Quine, told the Associated Press .

The 2015 settlement laid out a process for other California inmates to receive sex reassignment surgery that involves mental health and medical evaluations and a presentation to a six-member committee composed of medical professionals. The state also agreed to provide transgender inmates with gender-affirming clothing and items from commissary.

Several lawsuits in recent years have focused on the role of the state in providing hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery to inmates. Both treatments “have been found to be medically necessary to alleviate gender dysphoria in many people,” according to guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health . In a 2015 survey by prison abolitionist group Black and Pink, of more than 1,100 prisoners, 44 percent of respondents who requested hormones said they had been denied access to them.

Quine’s case was preceded by another transgender inmate, Michelle Norsworthy, who in April 2015 successfully obtained a federal court order mandating the state of California to pay for sex reassignment surgery. Norsworthy was placed on parole in August before she could receive the surgery.

In February 2016, inmate Ashley Diamond, a transgender woman, settled a lawsuit she had filed the previous year against the Georgia Department of Corrections seeking access to hormone therapy. She was released last August.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest supporting Diamond in April 2015, asserting that failure to treat gender dysphoria is unconstitutional because it violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton echoed that interpretation in a statement this week about Quine’s surgery. “The 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires that prisons provide inmates with medically necessary treatment for medical and mental health conditions including inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria,” Thornton said in a statement.

Transgender inmates face particular challenges while incarcerated, including improper placement, and they are more vulnerable to violence. They are frequently placed in prisons according to their assigned sex, not their gender identity, according to a Lambda Legal survey of more than 2,300 people released in 2013. The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that more than 3,200 transgender people were incarcerated in 2011-12 and that 39.9 percent of them had reported sexual abuse that year.

Corinne is the Senior Multimedia Web Editor for NewsHour Weekend. She serves on the advisory board for VIDA: Women in Literary Arts.

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Court orders first gender-affirming surgery for a transgender federal prisoner

In a first, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has been ordered to secure gender-affirming surgery for a transgender prisoner.

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois ordered the bureau on Monday to undergo a nationwide search for a qualified surgeon to perform the surgery for the inmate, Cristina Nichole Iglesias.

The directive will bring Iglesias — who has been imprisoned since 1994 for threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction — a step closer to receiving the procedure, which she has been fighting to get for six years, the last three in the courts.

“I am hopeful that I will finally get the care I need to live my life fully as the woman I am,” Iglesias said in a statement provided to NBC News by her legal representative, the American Civil Liberties Union. “BOP has denied me gender-affirming surgery for years — and keeps raising new excuses and putting new obstacles in my way. I am grateful that the court recognized the urgency of my case and ordered BOP to act.”

Monday's court order could pave the way for other transgender prisoners to receive gender-affirming surgeries as well. LGBTQ advocates have called these procedures "life-saving," and Monday's decision could bolster the Biden administration's goal of improving the lives of incarcerated transgender people.

A 2015 report by the Justice Department estimated that 35 percent of trans prisoners surveyed had reported being sexually assaulted behind bars within the last year. Under the Trump administration, the Bureau of Prisons was required to “use biological sex as the initial determination” for housing trans prisoners.

A 2020 NBC News investigation that tracked 45 states and Washington, D.C., found that out of 4,890 transgender inmates in state prisons, only 15 were confirmed to being housed according to their lived gender.

In January, the Biden administration restored Obama-era guidelines for federal prisons to house transgender inmates by their gender identity "when appropriate." The guidelines also require prison staff to refer to trans inmates by their lived name and pronouns.

The ACLU estimates that the Federal Bureau of Prisons has more than 1,200 transgender people currently in its custody.

Iglesias has been in federal prison for roughly 28 years and currently lives in a bureau-run residential re-entry center in Florida, according to the ACLU.

Although she identified herself as a woman upon her incarceration, she has been housed in men's facilities for over two decades, and during that time has experienced physical and sexual violence, the ACLU said. In May, her lawsuit to seek gender-affirming surgery resulted in her being one of the few transgender federal prisoners moved to a facility that corresponds with her gender identity.

Iglesias then became the first transgender prisoner to be evaluated for gender-affirming surgery, which the Bureau of Prisons recommended in January. However, the ACLU said in a statement that the bureau had "sought to postpone any referral to a surgeon for months."

In Monday's ruling , Judge Nancy Rosenstengel slammed the prison bureau's handling of Iglesias' case and compared its "tactics" to a game of “whack-a-mole.” Rosenstengel also ordered the bureau to provide the court with weekly updates and a detailed plan to ensure that Iglesias gets the surgery before her release in December.

The Bureau of Prisons told NBC News in a statement that it does not comment on “pending litigation or matters subject to legal proceedings,” nor on “the conditions of confinement for any individual or group of inmates.”

“For years, Cristina has fought to receive the health care the Constitution requires," Joshua Blecher-Cohen, an ACLU of Illinois staff attorney who represents Ms. Iglesias, said in a statement.

"The court’s order makes clear that she needs gender-affirming surgery now and that BOP cannot justify its failure to provide this medically necessary care," he said. "We hope this landmark decision will help secure long-overdue health care for Cristina — and for the many other transgender people in federal custody who have been denied gender-affirming care.”

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Indiana Judge Rules Sicko Who Murdered His 11-Month-Old Stepdaughter Must Be Granted Transgender Surgery

Autumn Cordellionè

A judge in Indiana has ruled that a prisoner convicted of murdering his 11-month-old stepdaughter back in 2001 must be granted transgender surgery.

The case was originally filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that the rights of transgender inmate, Jonathan C. Richardson, also known as Autumn Cordellionè, were being violated by an Indiana law prohibiting the Department of Corrections from using taxpayer dollars to fund sex reassignment surgeries for inmates.

ACLU Files Lawsuit Against Indiana For Banning Inmate Sex-Changes — on Behalf of Man Who Murdered 11-Month-Old Stepdaughter

Judge Richard Young, who was appointed to the court by Bill Clinton back in 1998, agreed with this assessment.

“Specifically, Ms. Cordellioné has shown that her gender dysphoria is a serious medical need, and that, despite other treatments Defendant has provided her to treat her gender dysphoria, she requires gender-affirming surgery to prevent a risk of serious bodily and psychological harm,” he wrote in his ruling.

As a result, the Department of Corrections must now take “all reasonable actions” to grant the murderer his desired sex change.

Posting on the X platform, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita confirmed he would be appealing the decision and pointed out that taxpayers would rather not fund such an indulgent request.

An Indiana inmate convicted of murder wants taxpayers to fund their gender altering surgery. Last night, on WEHT in Evansville, they aired a story and my interview. My comment? Voters and the Legislature do not want their tax dollars spent on these prisoner gender surgeries.…

— Todd Rokita (@ToddRokitaIN) September 19, 2024

According to court documents , Richardson was sentenced to 55 years in prison after being convicted of strangling his wife’s 11-month-year old daughter to death while she was at work. Detectives who interviewed him at the time said he “unemotional” when questioned about his dastardly crime.

The post Indiana Judge Rules Sicko Who Murdered His 11-Month-Old Stepdaughter Must Be Granted Transgender Surgery appeared first on The Gateway Pundit .

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After 20 Years, Transgender Inmate Is A Step Closer To Surgery

Tovia Smith

Ever since she was convicted of a brutal murder in 1992, Michelle Kosilek has known that she'd be stuck in prison for the rest of her life.

That she can live with. The harder part was feeling she was stuck for life in the wrong body, says her attorney, Joseph Sulman.

"It's horrible," Sulman says. "I don't like to use the word 'torture,' but it's, you know, emotional claustrophobia and ... constant anxiety."

Michelle Kosilek in a New Bedford, Mass., court in 1993. When Kosilek was known as Robert, he was convicted of the 1990 murder of his wife. Lisa Bul/AP hide caption

Michelle Kosilek in a New Bedford, Mass., court in 1993. When Kosilek was known as Robert, he was convicted of the 1990 murder of his wife.

He says the only thing that kept Kosilek going was the hope of gender reassignment surgery. Born Robert, Kosilek began taking hormones and transitioning to a woman decades ago but has been waiting to take the last step.

"She signs all of her letters to me 'still smiling' ... based on the hope that one day she'll get the surgery she needs."

After a 20-year struggle, says Sulman, it was a huge relief to Kosilek when a federal appeals court ruled in her favor last week, backing a lower court decision that a prisoner's constitutional right to medical treatment applies "even if that treatment strikes some as odd or unorthodox." The appeals court also chided the state for having "dallied and disregarded" doctors' orders.

This would be the first time a prisoner in the U.S. gets gender reassignment surgery by court order. Massachusetts officials are considering whether or not to keep fighting the order; Sulman is now asking the court to force officials to schedule the surgery.

"The court, from my understanding, expects them to take all actions necessary — to do this as if they want to do this, whether or not they want to or not."

Prison officials have argued they have safety concerns and couldn't protect Kosilek after surgery. They also argued that by offering hormone treatment, they have met their obligation for adequate care. Advocates say transgender inmates frequently come up against arguments that their treatment is not medically necessary, but four federal appeals courts have ruled the other way.

It's becoming harder for prisons or private insurers to deny coverage for gender dysphoria, says Jennifer Levi, transgender rights project director for the group Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.

"The courts have said that the underlying condition is real and serious, and you can't simply deny medical care because of bias, stigma, public opinion," Levi says.

The original ruling mandating the surgery came just before the 2012 election , and it drew fire from both Republicans and Democrats in Massachusetts. Advocates hope Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick opts to drop the legal fight, while opponents are urging the administration not to throw in the towel — and to press the case up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We think it's frankly outrageous," says Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council. "I don't care how many doctors testify. This is not medical treatment; this is satisfying a social and political agenda. And I certainly hope that it would cause people to say, 'This has gone too far; let's call a halt to this.' "

But advocates counter that it's the court battle that's gone too far and wasted taxpayers' money. Sex change surgery can cost from $10,000 to $50,000, but the state is spending much more to make its case. And on top of that, since Kosilek won, the state also has to pay her legal fees, estimated at around $700,000.

Her lawyers have offered to waive that fee if the state would just drop the appeal and provide the surgery.

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Convicted Killer Gets State-Funded Sex Reassignment Surgery

shiloh-heavenly-quine-via-california-department-of-corrections-and-rehabilitation

California is legally required to foot the bill, corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton confirmed to the AP.

“The Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution requires that prisons provide inmates with medically necessary treatment for medical and mental health conditions, including inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria,” Thornton wrote.

Baig’s daughter, Farida, is in no way pleased, and tried to stop the surgery in court.

“My dad begged for his life,” she told the outlet. “It just made me dizzy and sick. I’m helping pay for his surgery—I live in California. It’s kind of like a slap in the face.”

California prison officials approved the surgery back in August 2015. Quine (still named Rodney James Quine in official prison records ), reportedly argued in court documents that living in her assigned gender caused her significant depression. This led to no less than five suicide attempt, and she said she tried to cut off her genitals when she was 19. She also said it complicated her life in the ward, causing “confusion and mixed emotions from the males that go from romantic thoughts to disgust and explosive turmoil reactions.” Her attorneys told the outlet she will be transferred to a women’s prison.

[California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation]

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Indiana ag vows to fight court ruling demanding baby killer's taxpayer-funded sex change.

Jonathan C. Richardson, who now goes by the name Autumn Cordellionè, ruled that he was subjected to 'cruel and unusual punishment' by an Indiana state law prohibiting taxpayer-funded sex changes for inmates.

The Republican attorney general of Indiana has vowed to fight a recent court ruling that mandates taxpayer-funded sex change procedures for an inmate who is in prison for strangling his 11-month-old stepdaughter to death.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Young granted a preliminary injunction last Tuesday in favor of the ACLU of Indiana, ordering that the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) must provide prisoner Jonathan C. Richardson with sex change surgery "at the earliest opportunity," according to the order .

"Of course, I disagree, How could you not??" Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita wrote on X in the wake of the ruling. "An Indiana inmate convicted of murder wants our taxpayers to fund their gender-altering surgery! Hoosiers do NOT want this. We're still reviewing the court's opinion, but you can undoubtedly expect our office to appeal this decision."

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Richardson, who now goes by the name Autumn Cordellionè, sued IDOC in August 2023 for violating his rights under the Eighth Amendment by subjecting him to "cruel and unusual punishment" by prohibiting taxpayers from paying for his sex change surgeries in accordance with House Bill 1569 , a state law that went into effect in 2023.

The statute states that the state DOC "may not authorize the payment of any money, the use of any state resources, or the payment of any federal money administered by the state to provide or facilitate the provision of sexual reassignment surgery to an offender patient."

With the help of the ACLU, Richardson alleged the statute violated his rights under the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, according to the lawsuit .

The initial complaint claimed that Richardson was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2020 and has been consistently taking female hormones and testosterone blockers, as well as being provided "panties, make up, and form fitting clothing."

Young ruled that the state law was unconstitutional and that Richardson's need for sex change procedures was "medically necessary" to treat the gender dysphoria that the ACLU claims he has experienced since the age of 6.

"Specifically, Ms. Cordellioné has shown that her gender dysphoria is a serious medical need, and that, despite other treatments Defendant has provided her to treat her gender dysphoria, she requires gender-affirming surgery to prevent a risk of serious bodily and psychological harm," Young wrote.

"Ms. Cordellioné has shown that injunctive relief is necessary," the judge also wrote. "There is no dispute that gender dysphoria is a serious medical condition under the objective prong."

Despite Richardson's request for extensive surgeries that would include breast implants and a tummy tuck among other procedures, Young is only demanding an orchiectomy to remove the testicles and a vaginoplasty, which purports to construct a "neovagina" out of penile tissue.

ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk praised Young's ruling in a statement last week.

"Today marks a significant victory for transgender individuals in Indiana’s prisons," said Falk. "Denying evidence-based medical care to incarcerated people simply because they are transgender is unconstitutional. We are pleased that the Court agreed."

Richardson is serving a 55-year sentence for reckless homicide related to the death of his 11-month-old stepdaughter while his then-wife was at work on Sept. 12, 2001. An appeal from 2003 describes how Richardson was charged in 2002 with the murder of the baby girl, who, according to an autopsy, "died of asphyxiation by manual strangulation."

The ruling comes as the issue of taxpayers paying for these types of procedures has featured in the 2024 presidential election.

In footage from the 2020 election cycle that has since reemerged, Vice President Kamala Harris touted her work "behind the scenes" while serving as attorney general of California to make sure "that every transgender inmate in the prison system would have access to the medical care that they desire and need."

In an ACLU questionnaire she filled out in 2020, Harris affirmed her intention as president that she would "ensure that transgender and nonbinary people who rely on the state for medical care — including those in prison and immigration detention” would be allowed to receive "all necessary surgical care."

Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to [email protected]

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Convicted killer gets sex-reassignment surgery on California taxpayer's dime

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

A 57-year-old convicted killer serving a life sentence in California became the first U.S. inmate to receive state-funded sex-reassignment surgery, the prisoner's attorneys confirmed Friday to The Associated Press.