The punishment doesn't fit the crime: More on transgender women, prison, and Maria Benita Santamaria
Filed by: Alex Blaze
January 6, 2010 6:00 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2010/01/i_posted_the_other_day.phpI posted the other day about Maria Benita Santamaria, a transgender woman sent to prison after she was found with ten pounds of meth on her. She was sent to a men's prison, put in solitary confinement, and denied hormones after having been on them for two years.
Considering the reaction to the post, I probably didn't explain my position sufficiently. I'll admit, I took a few shortcuts in that post since I assumed we were all coming from a similar perspective on some basic issues, like that transitioning isn't just playing dress-up and that people shouldn't be treated differently because they're L, G, B, or T.
To clarify, I don't think that what Santamaria did was just peachy and that she should be allowed to traffic meth as she pleases. The specific problems I had were:
