Three Transgender People Allege Abuse in Miami-Dade Jail (The 19th)
Christian Pallidine, a transgender man, was arrested in May 2020 for a curfew violation. Staff at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center allegedly forced him to show his genitals to officers, asking gratuitous and offensive questions and calling him “it” and “hermaphrodite.”
Three transgender people are accusing officials at a Florida jail of harassment and anti-transgender abuse in detention. An eight-page letter delivered to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava Wednesday details their allegations of mistreatment and discrimination at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK) in 2020.
Jae Bucci, Christian Pallidine and Gabriela Amaya Cruz were held at TGK after they were arrested in connection with Black Lives Matter protests in Miami last year. They have all been released and charges against them have been dropped.
…
All three are represented by the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF), the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic, which authored the letter. The groups say the abuse represents systemic mistreatment facing transgender people in prisons and jails throughout the country and want Levine Cava and her administration to hammer out new policies for detaining transgender people. Levine Cava, whose daughter is gay, has made a name for herself as an outspoken supporter of transgender rights.