Short of murder, this is as bad as bigotry and discrimination gets.
Amber (aka Charles) Caster, a Maryland trans inmate, is a pain in the ass to correctional staff. She has a history of protesting her treatment by jail staff, filing pro se lawsuits against prison officials (see cases here and here), and has attempted suicide at least 18 times.
Which didn’t give them a license to choke her unconscious then drop her face-down on a concrete floor. She ended up in an ICU with “serious” injuries. Afterward, she was written up. What started all this? Sitting down to protest a broken promise of recreation time. (Read story here.)
She’s suing the three correctional officers, of course, and this time she’s represented by a lawyer, who’s calling it a “hate crime.” (The C.O.’s stupidly called her homophobic slurs while knocking the stuffing out of her.)
But that’s not all; the local D.A. has filed criminal charges against them. And while news stories don’t specify whether they’re still employed, the superintendent said the prison system “will not tolerate violence against inmates, just as we will not tolerate it against our staff.” He’s probably not looking forward to the dent her lawsuit might make in his budget, either.
Look, being a jail guard ain’t a fun job. And I wouldn’t want to look after this inmate, and listen to her whining, either. She’s a troublemaker. I understand their frustration. But they can’t, in the name of the law and under the rubric of state authority, choke someone unconscious then drop them face-first on a concrete floor.
For that, they deserve to be fired, prosecuted, and sued. If they can’t do any better than this, they shouldn’t work as C.O.s. There are plenty of job openings for cooks and dishwashers down the street.