Chapter 12
LGBTQ Prisoners
Chapter Overview
While in custody, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people may have some needs that differ from those of straight cis-male and cis-female (that is, straight and non-transgender) prisoners. The materials in this chapter show how courts and Congress have addressed the incarceration of LGBTQ people. The chapter examines harassment and discrimination, preventing sexual victimization, housing decisions, and transgender medical care.
Featured Opinions
- Beal v. Foster, 803 F.3d 356 (7th Cir. 2015)
- Davis v. Prison Health Service, 679 F.3d 433 (6th Cir. 2012)
- Doe v. McHenry, 763 F. Supp. 3d 81 (D.D.C. 2025)
- Edmo v. Corizon, Inc., 935 F.3d 757 (9th Cir. 2019)
- Gibson v. Collier, 920 F.3d 212 (5th Cir. 2019)
- Hampton v. Baldwin, No. 3:18-cv-550-NJR-RJD, 2018 WL 5830730 (S.D. Ill. 2018)
- Johnson v. Johnson, 385 F.3d 503 (5th Cir. 2004)
- Keohane v. Fla. Department of Corrections, 952 F.3d 1257 (11th Cir. 2020)
- Monroe v. Baldwin, 424 F.Supp.3d 526 (S.D. Ill. Dec. 19, 2019)
Featured, Cited, and Supplemental Litigation Documents
- Doe v. Bondi, No. 25–5099 (D.C. Cir. 2025)
- Farmer v. Brennan, 91-cv-716 (W.D. Wisc.)
- Litigation summary and documents
- Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint for Damages and Injunctive Relief
- Petition for a writ of certiorari, 92-7247 (U.S. Jan. 1, 1993) (pro se)
- See also
- Emily Alpert, Gender Outlaws, In the Fray (Nov. 20, 2005)
- Alison Flower, Dee Farmer Won a Landmark Supreme Court Case on Inmate Rights. But that’s Not the Half of It, Village Voice (Jan. 29, 2014)
- Dee Farmer Deliberately Resisted (audio interview with Dee Farmer)
- Hampton v. Baldwin, No. 3:18–cv–550–NJR–RJD (S.D. Ill.)
- Litigation summary and documents
- Preliminary injunction hearing transcript, including testimony of Strawberry Hampton (Sept. 2018)
- Order granting preliminary injunction, 2018 WL 5830730 (S.D. Ill. Nov. 7, 2018)
- McKibben v. McMahon, No. 14-cv-02171-JGB (C.D. Cal.)
- Litigation summary and documents
- Order granting in part and denying in part defendants’ motion to dismiss, 2015 WL 10382396 (Apr. 17, 2015)
- Order granting plaintiffs’ motion for approval of class settlement, 2019 WL 1109683 (Feb. 28, 2019)
- Settlement Agreement (Aug. 15, 2018)
- Monroe v. Baldwin, 424 F.Supp.3d 526 (S.D. Ill. Dec. 19, 2019)
- United States v. Alabama, 2:15–cv–00368–MHT–TFM (M.D. Ala.)
- Litigation summary and documents
- U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Findings Letter, Investigation of the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women and Notice of Expanded Investigation (Jan. 17, 2014)
- Consent Decree (Jun. 18, 2015)
Statutes, Treaties, and Regulations
- Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), 34 U.S.C. §§ 30301 et seq.
- Department of Justice PREA Rule, 28 C.F.R. Part 115
- Department of Homeland Security PREA Rule, 6 C.F.R. Part 115
- Executive Order No. 14,168, 90 Fed. Reg. 8615 (Jan. 30, 2025)
Excerpted Sources & Supplemental Documents
- Joey L. Mogul, Andrea J. Ritchie, & Kay Whitlock, Queer (In)justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States (2011)
- U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons Change Notice, Transgender Offender Manual (May 11, 2018)
Lived Experiences
Additional Reading
General Information
- Sasha Aslanian & Darcy Speer, Transgender Women Are Nearly Always Incarcerated in Men’s Prisons, Putting Many in Danger, NBC News (Feb. 25, 2020)
- Center for American Progress & Movement Advancement Project, Unjust: How the Broken Criminal Justice System Fails LGBT People (Feb. 2016)
- Kelsie Chesnut & Jennifer Peirce, Vera Ins. of Just., Advancing Transgender Justice: Illuminating Trans Lives Behind and Beyond Bars (2024)
- Sharon Dolovich, Strategic Segregation in the Modern Prison, 48 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 1 (2011)
- Adam Liptak, Inmate Was Considered “Property” of Gang, Witness Tells Jury in Prison Rape Lawsuit, N.Y. Times (Sept. 25, 2005)
- ACLU Press Release: Roderick Keith Johnson Speaks Out About Verdict In Prison Rape Case (Oct. 19, 2005)
- Angie Leventis Lourgos, “I’m Safe Here”: Transgender Inmate Describes Life at Illinois Women’s Prison After Rare Transfer Based on Gender Identity, Chicago Tribune (Jan. 29, 2019)
- Nat’l Ctr. for Transgender Equality, LGBTQ People Behind Bars (2018)
- Russell K. Robinson, Masculinity as Prison: Sexual Identity, Race, and Incarceration, 99 Cal. L. Rev. 1309 (2011)
- Beth Schwartzapfel, 3 Things to Know About Prison Violence Against Transgender People, The Marshall Project (Nov. 2024)
Statistics
- Ilan H. Meyer et al., Incarceration Rates and Traits of Sexual Minorities in the United States: National Inmate Survey, 2011–2012, 107 Am. J. Public Health 267 (2017)
- Sandy E. James, et al., Nat’l Ctr. for Transgender Equality, The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (2016)
- Mara Keisling et al., Nat’l Ctr. for Transgender Equality & National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (2011)
- Allen J. Beck et al., U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 2011–12: National Inmate Survey (May 2013)
- Allen J. Beck, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 2011–12: Supplemental Tables: Prevalence of Sexual Victimization Among Transgender Adult Inmates (Dec. 2014)