j.m@talk
07-17-2003, 09:33 PM
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.
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.