Facing complaints that the special jail oversight board hearing he had called on the treatment of transgender inmates would not amount to anything, board chair Judge David Cashman walked out early, flanked by two sheriff's deputies, leaving the meeting to go on without him.
Former transgender inmates and other advocates told members of the jail oversight board that they were exposed to violence and harassment from both fellow inmates and corrections officers at the jail, with transgender women often being housed with men.
"They're housed incorrectly. We have to look at systematic transphobia. Systematic transphobia is housing women who identify as women with men. Guards have also endangered those women," said Ciora Thomas, the executive director of SisTersPGH, an advocacy and transitional housing organization for transgender people.
The county is currently fighting a 2017 lawsuit, now in federal court, filed on behalf of Jules Williams, a transgender woman who was housed with men despite being legally recognized by Pennsylvania as a woman. Ms. Williams was repeatedly raped by a male inmate.
Ms. Thomas regularly appears at the jail board's monthly meetings to appeal to the board to make changes to how the jail houses transgender people, and to fire the warden, Orlando Harper. Ms. Thomas and other advocates said that transgender women housed with men are often assaulted or harassed by both inmates and guards.
Other advocates at the meeting recounted violence perpetrated against them, violence they had seen, and being treated as members of their birth or legal sex, rather than according their gender identity, while in the jail.
Before walking out of the meeting, Judge Cashman asked that advocates hand over specific allegations, with victims and perpetrators. One attendee, former inmate Lorenzo Rulli, said he had done exactly that following the previous jail board meeting.
"I haven't been contacted. You took my name last [time]," said Mr. Rulli.
Mr. Rulli also explained that while he was in the jail, "There was a trans woman who was held with men, who were threatening her while I was there. There was only one trans woman who was in processing while I was there, so you can figure out who it was."
Vanessa Carter, a transgender woman, said she was housed with men and had "male" posted on her door while at the jail.
Deputy Warden Laura Williams, who represented the jail administration at the meeting, said that while a transgender inmate who identifies as a woman will go before an internal "gender review committee" for a recommendation to the warden regarding their housing, "initially she will be housed according to her legal gender.
"I understand that there may be objections to that," Ms. Williams said.
Advocates asked for the jail to make public the questions asked as part of the gender review, as well as the members of the committee.
At one point, two sheriff's deputies, in addition to the two present from the beginning, joined the room. Some voices had been raised and curse words used, but a member of the public who declined to give his name noted, "Nobody was threatened. This is an intimidation tactic."
After one of the newly arrived deputies got into an argument over cursing with another advocate, Judge Cashman said, "We're done," and walked out of the meeting with both added deputies.
The advocate, Nique C, said after the deputy left, "Me being a nonbinary individual, my pronouns are ‘they.’... He called me ma'am. This is a meeting for trans people, and you invite in a bully to misgender me."
The meeting continued in Judge Cashman's absence, and the advocates promised him that they would be at the regular board meeting Thursday.
Kimberly Andrews, a recent inmate who has an active lawsuit against the county for holding her in solitary confinement despite a history of mental health issues and attempting suicide, challenged members of the board to take active measures to change jail policy.
County Controller Chelsa Wagner, a member of the board, told the advocates that while she believes the statute creating the board gives them the power to make changes, in practice the real power lies with county Executive Rich Fitzgerald. "Our board is powerless, because all the decisions go back to the county executive," she said.
Ms. Wagner suggested that Mr. Fitzgerald's representative at the hearing, Deputy County Manager Barbara Parees, might be able to offer some answers.
"Give us three recommendations," Ms. Andrews asked of Ms. Parees.
Ms. Parees did not give any specifics, but said, "I will let him know everything that went on here."
Deputy Warden Williams suggested that the advocates and members of the board could "hammer [issues] out in a small working group," but Ms. Thomas said that they had a similar task force with Mr. Harper in 2015, which they found unproductive.
"That's a waste of time," said Ms. Thomas. "He needs to go."
Following the meeting, Ms. Wagner said she would seek to have data on transgender inmates and complaints included in the monthly health and staffing report supplied by the jail. She also suggested that if there is not enough money for the jail to create a special pod for transgender inmates, perhaps as many as possible could be diverted to alternative housing programs.
Christopher Huffaker: 412-263-1724, chuffaker@post-gazette.com, or @huffakingit.
First Published: July 29, 2019, 10:31 p.m.
