Rome trans woman seeks transfer from men’s prison

♦ Ashley Diamond says she has been sexually assaulted and denied medical treatment.

filed an “avalanche of disciplinary reports” against her without merit and didn’t give her adequate opportunity to defend herself, Diamond said. One high-ranking official told her after she filed her lawsuit that he would make sure she stayed in prison longer, she said. That resulted in her parole release date being pushed back from March of this year to April of next year, with the parole board citing her “institutional conduct,” she said.

“I carry so much trauma that it is hard for me to get through the day. I have panic attacks that make it difficult to even breathe. The sound of doors opening and closing, keys clanking, or footsteps approaching makes my heart race and my palms sweat. I have trouble sleeping because of my anxiety and nightmares,” Diamond said in her statement.

A friend who stayed with her after discovering her in distress after a suicide attempt was later punished by guards, who falsely claimed the two had engaged in sexual conduct, the friend said in a statement submitted to the court. A prison official repeatedly tried to pressure the friend to file a sexual assault complaint against Diamond and left him in solitary confinement when he refused, the statement says.

Diamond’s lawyers are asking a judge to order prison officials to move her to a women’s prison, allow her to shower privately, keep her from being strip searched by male officers and provide her with necessary treatment for gender dysphoria. They also ask the judge to order prison officials not to retaliate against Diamond or other witnesses and not to take action against her based on false designations of her as a sexual aggressor and dangerous prisoner.

Shortly after Diamond’s previous lawsuit was filed, the U.S. Department of Justice got involved, filing a brief that said prison officials must treat a gender identity condition just as they would treat any other medical or mental health condition. The filing said the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires individualized assessment and care for the condition.

Georgia prison officials then implemented a policy to ensure that prisoners with a possible gender dysphoria diagnosis are evaluated by qualified medical and mental health professionals, including an assessment of treatment and experiences before entering prison. The policy also said a treatment plan would be developed to address physical and mental health.

Diamond was paroled in August 2015 after serving about a third of her 12-year sentence for burglary and other convictions, according to prison records. She settled her lawsuit against the state in February 2016.

I have panic attacks that make it difficult to even breathe . ... I have trouble sleeping because of my anxiety and nightmares.”