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Friend, In 2020, Gabriela Amaya Cruz, Christian Pallidine and Ángel Jae Torres Bucci were arrested in Miami-Dade County, Florida, while protesting in defense of Black lives. All criminal charges against them were later dropped – but the effects of the abuse they suffered while in county custody linger to this day. Amaya Cruz, Pallidine and Torres Bucci are transgender and are entitled to equal treatment that respects their gender identity under the law. Instead, they were singled out because they are trans for different and worse treatment by correctional staff at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami. On Jan. 31, we filed a lawsuit on the trio’s behalf, in partnership with Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic. We are taking Miami-Dade County to court to ensure that the county’s policies regarding the health, safety and dignity of transgender people in county jails meet the standards required by the Constitution and state and federal law. “Transgender people deserve dignity and respect, especially in settings where they are at increased risk such as local jails,” said Scott McCoy, interim deputy legal director for LGBTQ Rights at the SPLC. “Unfortunately, Miami-Dade County failed our clients miserably.” As detailed in the complaint, correctional staff called the three plaintiffs degrading and humiliating names including “it” and ”hermaphrodite,” addressed and referenced them using the wrong gender pronouns and names, threatened their safety, manhandled and physically hurt them, forced them to remove personal accessories that aligned with their gender, isolated them in solitary cells, denied them medical treatment, required them to wear clothing associated with the wrong gender in order to be freed from jail, and undertook illegal strip searches of two of the plaintiffs. The complaint seeks damages for Amaya Cruz, Pallidine and Torres Bucci for injury suffered in custody and a declaration that Miami-Dade County’s actions violated the law. You can learn more about the suit, including a list of recommended changes to jail policies and practices, and the experiences of the plaintiffs here. You can also show your support for the three plaintiffs by signing a petition here. In solidarity, Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center
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