Illinois prison guards mocked trans inmates on private FB groups: 'Transgender's are a f*****g joke in my view'
Prison employees working for Illinois Department of Corrections reportedly mocked transgender inmates and even disclosed their personal and medical information on social media, according to reports.
The controversial remarks were made on a Facebook group by 25 low-level officers, sergeants, lieutenants, and other staffers working for the corrections department. The comments reportedly included those degrading transgender women and outing other LGBTQ prisoners, an Injustice Watch review found. Private details of the inmates were also disclosed in the group, including their medical treatments and alleged sexual acts inside the prison.
The prison employees referred to transgender women as "it" or "he" in two private Facebook groups, both titled "Behind the walls," along with different spellings of Illinois Department of Corrections. Both the groups have nearly 4,000 members.
Reports state that some of the alleged abuse was directed at one particular transgender woman, Deon "Strawberry" Hampton, who has sued the state's Department of Corrections, accusing it of not doing enough to protect her from abuse at their facility. Hampton was serving a 10-year-sentence for burglary at the Logan Correctional Center outside Lincoln, Illinois and was released in July this year.
Hampton was incarcerated at correctional facilities for men before being transferred to a facility for women. She has alleged that she was a victim of repeated sexual assault, beatings, and tauntings during her time in male prisons.
One correctional officer, while referring to Hampton, in the group wrote: "I've seen this mother f****r with a beard. The state is stupid I'd chop his pecker off for him, then he can be female."
While another officer wrote: "Know (sic) matter way you look at it, it's a freak'n male inmate. Transgender's are a f*****g joke in my view."
Illinois Department of Corrections Acting Director Rob Jeffreys, while talking to Buzzfeed, said that the department is "firmly dedicated to fostering a culture of tolerance, inclusion, and respect in our correctional facilities," adding that it had implemented mandatory staff training on "implicit bias and transgender care."