Cops & Courts

Richard Gilliam is incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. 

May 2, 2012

The Argument in Favor of Re-implementation and Expansion of a Correctional Re-entry Program

It’s summer in California, which means fire season is in full force – and it could be the worst one in years. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, better known as CAL FIRE, responds to more than 5,000 wildfires each year. They protect more than 31 million acres of California’s privately-owned wildlands and provide emergency services for most of the state’s counties.

The issue of prison rape is often belittled by standup comedians, but it’s really no laughing matter – especially if you’re a transgender woman locked up in an all-male facility.

Grace Lawrence, 43, is a transgender woman from Liberia who was in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, for nearly three years. For all but six months, she was kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.

Often, transgender inmates are placed in protective custody – also known as solitary confinement – for their own protection.