A UK trans woman who was convicted after raping two women prior to her transition and was sent to an all-female prison will now be housed in a male prison.
The initial consideration to have her held at an all-female prison caused an uproar from activists, United Nations officials, as well as politicians. Isla Bryson from Scotland was declared guilty this week of rape when she was previously named, Adam Graham. According to a Daily Mail report, before her transition, Bryson was a
“muscular”
man with a bald head and face tattoo. Bryson denied the charges and informed the court that the incident was consensual, pleading that she
“would never hurt another human being.”
Yet, prosecutors argued that the 31-year-old assaulted an unidentified victim back in 2016 and another one in 2019. Both incidents occurred in Scotland. Bryson initially went to court as Adam Graham in 2020; however, later on, that year, she made the decision to transition. Bryson said that she desired to transition since 4 years old but didn’t make the final decision until she was 29 years old. However, Byson’s estranged wife, Shonna Graham, doubted her motive for her transition decision, reports CBS. Bryson informed jurors that Adam Graham
“was her dead name,”
reports FOX. Bryson is currently taking hormones and looking to do gender reassignment surgery.
Bryson was being held in in remand at the Cornton Vale women’s prison in segregation; however, following the outrage, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced,
“Given the understandable public and parliamentary concern in this case I can confirm to parliament that this prisoner will not be incarcerated at Cornton Vale.”
A conservative member of the Scottish Parliament, Russell Findlay, said,
“This rapist decided that he was no longer a man only after appearing in court on a rape charge.”
A Scottish politician who chairs the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Joanna Cherry said,
“To many people, it will look like this convicted rapist has gamed the system in order to try and garner sympathy and end up in a women’s prison.”
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
