<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<b><small><small><small><small><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35497-discrimination-in-parole-hearings-keeps-trans-prisoners-behind-bars-advocates-say">http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35497-discrimination-in-parole-hearings-keeps-trans-prisoners-behind-bars-advocates-say</a></small></small></small></small></b><br>
<div class="moz-forward-container">
<div dir="ltr">
<h2 class=""> Discrimination in Parole Hearings Keeps Trans
Prisoners Behind Bars, Advocates Say </h2>
<span class=""> Tuesday, 05 April 2016 - </span><span class="">By
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.truth-out.org/author/itemlist/user/45103">Victoria
Law</a></span>
<div class="">
<p>Rickie Blue-Sky will appear before the California parole
board on Wednesday. He has spent the past 32 years in prison
for an act that he has always asserted he did not do. This
will be his fifth parole hearing. He is now 70 years old.</p>
<p>In 2013, Blue-Sky appeared before the parole board with
numerous certificates showing the programs that he had
completed as well as 31 pages of support letters. But those
accomplishments mattered less than the crime he had been
accused of, his continued claim of innocence and, as a trans
man, his gender identity.</p>
<p>At that hearing, Michael Abacherli, the deputy district
attorney of the San Bernardino District Attorney's Office,
voiced his objection to Blue-Sky's release. The objection by
itself is not unusual, but Abacherli's argument was.
Abacherli stated that he considered Blue-Sky to be a danger
to society, tying his assertion of innocence with his gender
identity as proof that Blue-Sky posed a threat to public
safety.</p>
<p>"Blue-Sky, for whatever reason, denies constantly that she
is a woman or a female," Abacherli said. "It becomes an
issue when the denial is so strong that a person doesn't
want to be called a female at all because regardless of what
you may represent to others, if you're a male or a female,
that is what you are. Deny it or not. That is what you are.
But that strong denial, that refusal to accept what she is,
a female, is equivalent to the refusal to accept that she
was guilty of a heinous crime."</p>
<p>The California Supreme Court has ruled that, after a long
period of time, factors that cannot be changed -- such as
the crime and conviction -- should no longer be used against
a person's application for parole, especially when the
person has demonstrated positive changes behind bars. But,
despite Blue-Sky's ongoing participation in prison programs
and his founding of several groups to address concerns of
Native American as well as transgender, gender-nonconforming
and two-spirit people, the parole board denied his request
for parole, stating, "You have failed to demonstrate insight
into your propensity to commit such a violent act of
aggression and even murder."</p>
<p>In its decision, the board did not mention Blue-Sky's
gender identity or address the statements made by the deputy
district attorney, who in effect argued that one's gender
identity constitutes a reason to deny parole. Do these
comments and the board's failure to interrupt such remarks
indicate a more systemic problem of transphobia and trans
discrimination in the parole process?</p>
<p><strong>Thirty-Two Years of Building Bonds and Encouraging
Hope</strong></p>
<p>In 1983, Rickie Blue-Sky, a 37-year-old member of the
Salish tribe from northern Idaho, was arrested in San
Bernardino, California, for allegedly killing and
dismembering his girlfriend. His arrest made news -- in
large part because Blue-Sky was a trans man. Local newspaper
headlines covered the arrest, preliminary hearings and the
1984 trial, sensationalizing Blue-Sky's gender identity. One
headline read, "Woman-man's court date delayed." Others
played up Blue-Sky's gender identity in articles with
statements such as, "At that point, the case took a bizarre
turn when police discovered the suspect actually is a
woman." Every article from that time period misgenders
Blue-Sky.</p>
<p>In a phone call from prison, Blue-Sky told Truthout that
his trial attorney had been bombarded with requests from the
media. "A murder these days is not news," he recalled his
attorney repeating to him. "But a woman who poses as a man
who commits murder is news."</p>
<p>In November 1984, Blue-Sky was convicted, sentenced to 27
years to life and sent to the California Institution for
Women. When he arrived, prison officials debated where to
place him.</p>
<p>"They were trying to imply that I was a deviant," Blue-Sky
recalled. "They were trying to ascertain whether or not the
women would be safe." What saved him from being placed in
administrative segregation, a form of isolation in which he
would have little to no contact with other people, was his
walk to the intake office. "Quite a few people said hello to
me because they knew me from the county jail. The sergeant
noted that no one seemed afraid of me."</p>
<p>During his 32 years in prison, Blue-Sky has never received
a write-up for a physical altercation or been sent to
solitary confinement. This is particularly noteworthy given
that, in jails and prisons nationwide, trans and
gender-nonconforming people are routinely placed in some
form of isolation. Some, particularly trans women in men's
prisons, are placed in <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://solitarywatch.com/2014/08/07/transgender-women-in-new-york-state-prisons-face-solitary-confinement-and-sexual-assault/"
target="_blank">protective custody</a>, where they are
isolated from other people, ostensibly for their own safety.
Other trans and gender-nonconforming people are regularly
targeted for harassment, humiliation and write-ups that send
them to segregation.</p>
<p>Krystal Shelley, who goes by Krys, is a
gender-nonconforming person who spent 12 years in
California's women's prisons. In an essay for the anthology
<em><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/33479-the-road-to-trans-liberation-cece-mcdonald-chelsea-manning-and-more-in-the-new-edition-of-captive-genders"
target="_blank">Captive Genders</a></em>, Shelley
recalls being attacked and pepper-sprayed by prison guards,
and then sent to segregation simply for trying to walk over
to another person. "I turned to see three cans of pepper
spray and eighteen correctional officers set to attack me,"
Shelley wrote. "They saw me as aggressive and so they used
extra force." Shelley spent two months in isolation before
being found guilty; two days later, officers returned to say
that Shelley was <em>not</em> guilty, before releasing
Shelley from segregation.</p>
<p>In prison, Shelley joined the Two-Spirit Circle, a group
that Blue-Sky had started for trans, gender-nonconforming
and two-spirit people. There, Shelley found both a mentor in
Blue-Sky and community among other members. "It was about
building a bond between people," Shelley told Truthout. "We
were building a masculine-bond with other female-born people
so we can have understanding." That sense of community was
particularly important in prison, where Shelley and other
masculine-identified people were often subject to harassment
and abuse by officers.</p>
<p>At the same time, Shelley also credits Blue-Sky with
helping Shelley cope with the constant harassment from male
officers. Instead of arguing when confronted with officers'
insults, Shelley would instead seek out Blue-Sky. "If I was
getting into an argument with someone, I'd head to the
chapel [where Blue-Sky worked]," Shelley recalled. "If you
could get to Blue-Sky, you can get whatever you need off
your chest.... To have someone who relates to me and can
understand me, Blue-Sky was extra good for me.... In many
ways, he helped with my maturity," said Shelley, who had
been incarcerated since age 17 and was released four years
ago.</p>
<p>"Lynn," who is still on parole and asked that her real name
not be used, spent 17 years in prison. By the time she met
him, Blue-Sky had already spent nearly two decades in
prison. "He had been there for so long," she told Truthout,
"but that didn't harden him. He gave me the gift of hope,
that you don't lose who you are [even after being in prison
for so long]."</p>
<p>As a cisgender woman who is not Native American, Lynn never
participated in any of Blue-Sky's programs. But she recalled
that, as she prepared for her parole hearing, Blue-Sky put
together a list of programs that would help her, including
an eight-month class that he facilitated. Although Lynn was
reluctant to enroll in such a lengthy class, Blue-Sky
visited her to demonstrate what she would have learned. "He
took the time to show me how to ground myself and put my
thoughts in one thing," she said. "He took the time to show
me what it was I'd be learning in the class even though I
didn't commit to it. I almost cried."</p>
<p>When she appeared before the parole board, Lynn reiterated
that she did not commit the crime for which she was
convicted. She reiterated that her abusive boyfriend, with
whom she lived, had killed someone in their house. "But I
took responsibility for leaving the person in the house,
knowing that my boyfriend was volatile, abusive, jealous and
on drugs."</p>
<p>Lynn was granted parole. "The DA congratulated me on my
growth and insight into what I did wrong," she recalled. "He
used that word a lot -- insight. They want you to take
responsibility for something."</p>
<p>Blue-Sky has always maintained his innocence, going so far
as to fire a parole attorney who attempted to pressure him
into admitting guilt so as to increase his chances of
parole. He notes that, since 1984, he has participated in
prison programs and has started several programs for Native
Americans and trans people. But will any of that matter when
he appears before the parole board once again?</p>
<p><strong>What Does Gender Identity Have to Do With Parole?</strong></p>
<p>"It's extremely hard to be granted parole while claiming
innocence," said Kelly Lou Densmore, the staff attorney at <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.tgijp.org/"
target="_blank">TGI Justice Project</a>, an advocacy
organization supporting trans, gender-nonconforming and
intersex people in the criminal legal system. But, she
added, "There's no connection between insight into the crime
and gender identity. These are two completely separate
issues." Even for people who are guilty of the crime for
which they were convicted, "gender identity has nothing to
do with the crime."</p>
<p>Furthermore, Densmore emphasized that being trans is "not a
refusal to accept his gender identity. [Blue-Sky] is not in
denial of his gender identity."</p>
<p>Densmore filed a complaint with the San Bernardino District
Attorney's Office on behalf of TGI Justice Project, asking
that Abacherli be disciplined for such comments and that the
district attorney's office refrain from making such comments
at the upcoming parole hearing. The district attorney's
office has not responded to Truthout's request for comment.</p>
<p>Densmore noted that parole commissioners have the ability
to interrupt or stop remarks that are considered irrelevant.
During Blue-Sky's 2013 hearing, the commissioners did not
take this action. "The fact that they didn't interrupt the
DA or specifically say, 'We're not denying you because of
your gender identity,' means that they did probably consider
it," she said.</p>
<p>TGI Justice Project is now tracking instances of trans
discrimination during parole hearings, but it's too soon to
tell how frequently transphobia plays a role in parole
determinations. "There's so little support for imprisoned
trans people across the country," Densmore said. "That's why
we don't have information about this."</p>
<p>While no data has been collected on the prevalence of
discrimination against trans, gender-nonconforming and
two-spirit people in the parole process, anecdotal evidence
suggests that it is present. A 2015 <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.blackandpink.org/wp-content/upLoads/Coming-Out-of-Concrete-Closets.-Black-and-Pink.-October-16-2015..pdf"
target="_blank">survey of nearly 1,200 LGBTQ people in
prison</a>, conducted by Black & Pink, a network that
supports LGBTQ people behind bars, found that nearly 60
percent of two-spirit people and 50 percent of
nonbinary-gender people felt discriminated against during
parole hearings.</p>
<p>In 2015, two years after Blue-Sky's parole hearing, another
trans man appeared before the California parole board. Like
Blue-Sky, he brought numerous letters of support, including
letters of acceptance to transitional housing and violence
prevention programs. He had remained free of any violations
of prison rules; his last write-up had been 10 years
earlier. At the hearing, he took responsibility for his
crime and expressed remorse for his actions.</p>
<p>While the Los Angeles deputy district attorney acknowledged
that the prison's psychiatric evaluation classified the
person as having a "low-risk of violence," the deputy
district attorney nonetheless opposed his release because of
his in-prison hormone treatments. "Going through this
transgender process leaves me with some questions as just
how the inmate is going to be affording the remainder of her
treatment if released," the deputy district attorney said.
"And I want to emphasize which the psychologist also
mentioned that the stressor -- one of the stressors of her
life on the outside will be a transgender."</p>
<p>Densmore noted that hormone therapy is covered under
Medi-Cal, adding, "You'd never argue that this person has
diabetes and therefore diabetes is a risk factor."</p>
<p>Transphobia in prison practices can also affect people's
chances of parole. Mik Kinkead is the director of the
Prisoner Justice Project at the <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://srlp.org/" target="_blank">Sylvia Rivera Law
Project</a>, which works with trans and
gender-nonconforming people imprisoned throughout New York
State. In early 2015, the organization began offering parole
support and assistance.</p>
<p>Kinkead told Truthout about one client, a trans woman, who
was placed in a men's prison. She was sexually assaulted and
placed in protective custody, where she was unable to access
the prison's programs. The following year, she appeared
before the parole board, bringing numerous letters of
support. According to the hearing transcript, the parole
board commissioners noted the woman's lack of participation
in programs. They also expressed confusion because the
letters used the woman's chosen name rather than the legal
name under which she was incarcerated. Ultimately, the
parole board denied her application because of her lack of
program participation.</p>
<p>The next year, the woman was transferred to a
minimum-security prison. There, she was allowed out of
isolation, and was able to access various programs. She also
became a GED tutor. But these accomplishments did not
impress the parole board when she appeared before them the
following year; they denied her application again, this time
stating that she had not shown a significant change in her
behavior.</p>
<p>Another of Kinkead's clients, also a trans woman, was sent
to Attica, a men's prison <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/nyregion/attica-prison-infamous-for-bloodshed-faces-a-reckoning-as-guards-go-on-trial.html?_r=1"
target="_blank">notorious for violence</a>. Fearing sexual
violence, she asked to be placed in protective custody. One
year later, she asked to be allowed into general population.
The prison refused. She remained in isolation, where she had
no access to programs. When she appeared before the parole
board, she too was denied because of her lack of program
participation.</p>
<p>"How am I supposed to access programs if I'm in protective
custody?" she asked. Board commissioners told her that this
was outside of their purview.</p>
<p>"There's a movement of prisons and parole boards merging
together," said Kinkead, noting that New York's parole board
is part of its <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://www.parole.ny.gov/introboard.html"
target="_blank">overall corrections system</a>. "But they
don't communicate. So in this instance, the board could have
asked that she be transferred to another prison where she
could safely be out of protective custody and be able to
access programs. Instead, they told her it wasn't in their
purview."</p>
<p><strong>Blue-Sky's Upcoming Parole Hearing</strong></p>
<p>"I'm cautiously optimistic," Blue-Sky told Truthout, days
before his parole hearing. As he and Densmore both noted,
and as the parole board acknowledged in the 2013 hearing,
factors that cannot be changed -- such as the conviction --
should no longer be held against a person during a parole
hearing, especially if the person has a history of positive
programming and actions while imprisoned.</p>
<p>Blue-Sky has a long history of positive programming.
Shortly after entering prison, he helped start a Native
American religious program. At Valley State Prison, he began
the Two-Spirit Wellness Circle through the Native American
chaplaincy to help lesbian and trans people connect with
their spiritual identities and support each other. Following
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.truth-out.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=14278"
target="_blank">Valley State's conversion to a men's
prison</a>, he and others from the Wellness Circle began a
trans support group at the Central California Women's
Facility.</p>
<p>"My mother told me, 'There's a mission for you,'" he said.
"I found it in prison. My mission is to help others find
their spiritual identity." He plans to continue that mission
outside of prison as well. He hopes to use his paralegal
certification to help both TGI Justice Project and the
California Coalition for Women Prisoners continue fighting
for the rights of trans and gender-nonconforming people in
prison.</p>
<p>"Once upon a time, I was pretty arrogant," he reflected in
the seconds before his phone call was cut off. "Helping
people has taught me and I've advanced in my humility.
That's the main thing."</p>
</div>
<span class="">
</span><br clear="all">
<br>
</div>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
</div>
<br>
</div>
<br>
</body>
</html>