Transgender woman who was denied hormone drugs in jail, gets released early, sues authorities

A transgender Georgia inmate who sued the state's prison system after being denied hormone therapy and a safe environment has been paroled for the remainder of her 11-year sentence.Ashley Diamond, 38, was released Monday after serving a little more than three years in a male prison during which she says she was sexually assaulted eight times.

"I'm overjoyed to be with my family again and out of harm's way," she said in a statement released by the Southern Poverty Law Center which filed the suit on her behalf in February.

"Although the systematic abuse and assaults I faced for more than three years have left me emotionally and physically scarred, I'll continue to fight for justice and to shine a light on the gross mistreatment of transgender inmates in Georgia and nationwide."

Diamond's early release on parole supervision while serving time for burglary is said to be in no way related to the SPLC's lawsuit which was later backed by the U.S. Justice Department.
A spokesman for the state's parole board, in an email to the Daily News, said she was deemed “rehabilitated” and stated that “the parole release is compatible with the welfare of society and public safety.”
Spokesman Steve Hayes acknowledged that Diamond was released earlier than her slated parole hearing this fall.

"The inmate served 46 months of the sentence, two months before being eligible according to the prison sentence," he said.

Hayes said the decision to release Diamond before her eligibility is "not unprecedented."

"The board has released inmates previously prior to their individual eligibility dates as it has the authority to do when the board deems the inmate's parole release is compatible with the welfare of society," he stated.

Ashley now back as a man

In Diamond's suit, which was backed by the DOJ in April, she claimed that she was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment which led to her attempting suicide and self-castration.
It included prison officials denying her hormone therapy treatment she had undergone since aged 17 and subjecting her to "unspeakable sexual assaults" by violent offenders.

Crass corrections personnel also referred to her with male pronouns as well as "faggot," "he/she" and "it," and sent to her solitary confinement for "pretending to be a woman," she claimed.

The conditions were declared "tantamount to torture" by one SPLC staff attorney.

"While we're thrilled that Ashley Diamond is out of prison, our lawsuit is far from over," said Attorney Chinyere Ezie in a statement Monday.

"Ashley has endured more than three years of systematic abuse based on the Georgia Department of Corrections' unconstitutional policies toward transgender inmates and woeful lack of care.

"Her release does not erase her barbaric treatment by GDC officials, which was tantamount to torture. Nor is her plight isolated. We will continue to advocate for an end to prison practices that unfairly punish and inflict pain on transgender inmates."