An inmate is challenging Washington state’s policy allowing biological males to be housed in female prisons based on gender identity, saying she was beaten up by a convicted child sex offender who identifies as female.
The America First Policy Institute sued on behalf of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, which opposes gender ideology, and Faith Booher-Smith, 28, a prisoner at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor. Booher-Smith said she was attacked in the cafeteria by transgender inmate Christopher Scott Williams.
“For apparently no reason known to Ms. Booher-Smith, Williams approached her silently from behind and struck her on the side of her face with his fist, then grabbed her hair and threw her to the ground before kicking her repeatedly with such force that she sustained visible injuries, including, facial bruising, a laceration in her mouth, and swelling to her jaw and eye,” said the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
An elderly female guard witnessed the attack last Aug. 7, but “froze” and “screamed in fear for her safety” instead of intervening, according to the filing.
“Williams is a six-foot-four, ’biologically intact’ male and convicted child sex offender who was transferred to WCCW after self-identifying as a woman,” the motion said.
The lawsuit said that the Washington Department of Corrections policy allowing biological males to transfer to women’s prisons based on gender identity violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
“A women’s prison is supposed to protect women,” said Leigh Ann O’Neill, the institute’s chief legal affairs officer, in a statement. “Washington’s policy turned that basic duty on its head. When the state knowingly forces women to live with men in intimate correctional settings — even after assaults, abuse allegations, and repeated warnings — it is violating the women’s constitutional rights.”
Washington DOC spokesperson Chris Wright said that “DOC does not comment on pending litigation,” adding that Williams is now housed at a men’s prison.
“Williams was transferred out of Washington Corrections Center for Women last October and is currently incarcerated at Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen,” said Mr. Wright in an email.
This isn’t the first time a female prisoner has challenged the state’s transgender policy.
In a lawsuit filed last year, former inmate Mozzy Clark said Williams masturbated in front of her, groped her, and threatened to rape her while they shared a prison cell, but that her complaints were largely ignored by prison officials.
The state houses at least five biological males in women’s prison facilities, according to the filing, under its 2020 policy, “Transgender, Intersex and/or Non-Binary Individuals,” known as DOC 490.700.
“Despite these repeated acts of violence against female inmates, WDOC continues to house male inmates at WCCW out of a confoundingly religious adherence to the Transgender Inmate Policy,” said the lawsuit. “The result is an environment of threats, violence, and chaos in a State-maintained penitentiary established to house and rehabilitate female prisoners.”
At least two other states, California and Maine, allow biological males who identify as female to be housed in women’s prisons, prompting the Justice Department to launch an investigation in March into whether the policies violate the constitutional rights of female inmates.
Supporters of such policies argue that transgender inmates face heightened risk of assault in men’s facilities, while opponents have accused them of downplaying the dangers to female prisoners.
The Washington corrections department has denied that transgender individuals present a danger to “vulnerable populations,” calling it a “common myth,” the lawsuit said.
In Washington, transgender inmates are permitted to share cells with female prisoners based solely on self-identification, regardless of whether they have undergone — or intend to undergo — gender-transition hormone therapy or surgeries.
“Men with fully male testosterone levels and intact male genitalia therefore are eligible and may be permitted to reside in prison spaces designated exclusively for biological women, including bathrooms, shower facilities, and bedrooms,” the lawsuit said.
Booher-Smith is a member of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, according to the filing, a group founded by business entrepreneur Bion Bartning dedicated to “overcoming identity politics.”
