ALBANY, N.Y. (Reuters) - A convicted murderer wants the state of New York to pay $500,000 for his sex change and a key ruling in his case has moved him closer to his dream of serving the rest of his sentence in a women's jail. Mark Brooks, 34, who calls himself Jessica Lewis, and claims to be "a girl inside," sued New York almost three years ago for treatment for his Gender Identity Disorder but has not received medical treatment. In a 19-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn said Brooks should be allowed to talk to doctors about requests for hormone therapy, breast implants, and "genital reassignment." Kahn said "deliberate indifference to serious medical attention" may be a violation of the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. He questioned the "puzzling distinction" officials make between hormone treatment before and after imprisonment. Department of Correctional Services policies limit hormone therapy to prisoners who are already receiving it before they enter the penal system. "Surely inmates with diabetes, schizophrenia or any other serious medical need are not denied treatment simply because their conditions were not diagnosed before incarceration," the judge wrote. Brooks, who wants to be transferred to a woman's prison, is serving 50 years to life in the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York for the 1989 murder of Hofstra University student Dean Lockshiss. The state Attorney General's office is reviewing the case before an appeal is filed. DOCS officials said they have not seen the judge's ruling yet and have no comment. Putnam County District Attorney Kevin Wright, who prosecuted the case against Brooks, told the New York Post that it was "appalling" that the victim's mother, a taxpayer, may be paying for the sex change of her son's killer. I'd like to hope that there is no chance in hell that this guy wins this case. But if he does, they should give him his hormones and new t*** but leave him in the mens jail. That would be hilarious. Be careful what you wish for....
I concur Question: If you wanna be a woman . . why would you want to goto a woman's prison? I mean . . if you wanna be a woman I would ASSUME u like men why goto a place without any MEN Rocket River
Why don't they just give one of the fellow prisoners a knife and let him perform the sex change right there. Problem solved, taxpayer saves money.
Great point. Maybe s/he is a lesbian trapped in a man's body... I know I have felt the same way sometimes! j/k
How ridiculous! I'm with the knife suggestion. Like in the Wizard of Oz...... "A snip-snip here, a snip-snip there......"
1) Just because a person is a woman (transexual or not), doesn't necessarily mean they like men. 2) Actual, there are some insurance companies that cover GRS (genital rearrangement surgery as I like to call it ^.^), but they are very rare. 3) $500,000 for surgery?!? I also think it's sad that people like this are often the types of faces shown as being representative of transgendered people in the media.
