Federal judge in GA denies more protection to transgender inmate | www.ajc.com

A federal judge denied ordering more protection for a transgender Georgia prison inmate but told prison officials the court is watching the prisoner’s treatment, the inmate’s lawyers said Tuesday.

Ashley Diamond, 35, has sued prison officials for failing to protect her against sexual assault and — at least initially — denying her the hormone treatments she had received for 17 years to develop female characteristics before imprisonment for burglary and theft convictions. In retaliation, she contends, officials moved her to Georgia State Prison in Reidsville, a maximum security facility with more dangerous inmates

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell rebuffed Diamond’s request to be moved to a safer prison or to order prison officials to take any more specific steps to ensure Diamond’s protection. The judge did not address the merits of the lawsuit, said David Dinielli, deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is representing Diamond.

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