|
 Michelle Lael-Norsworthy, for whom the state was ordered earlier
this year to provide the surgery, will be released within about a
week, a spokesman for the state said.
Separately on Friday the state reached a settlement with another
transgender woman inmate, Shiloh Quine, agreeing to provider her
surgery and transfer her to a women's prison.
Under the terms of that settlement, a copy of which was seen by
Reuters, the state agreed to allow inmates who are transgender or
have gender dysphoria access to clothing, toiletries and other items
consistent with their gender identities.
"We could not be more thrilled," said Ilona Turner, legal director
of the Transgender Law Center in Oakland, which represented both
inmates.
 The legal center agreed that the state would no longer have to pay
for surgery for Norsworthy but said that the settlement in the Quine
case was historic.
"It is both incredible for our client, Shiloh, who will finally get
the medical care she desperately needs, and for all transgender
people throughout the California prison system," Turner said.
Jeffrey Callison, a spokesman for the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, said that had every doctor and
mental health professional who examined Quine, including two
independent experts, said that she needed the gender reassignment
surgery.
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Quine, 56, who was born Rodney James Quine, is serving a term of
life without the possibility of parole after convictions in 1981 for
first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery, Callison said.
Norsworthy, 51, still listed in the state's inmate finder database
as Jeffrey Bryan Norsworthy, was convicted of second-degree murder
for killing an acquaintance during a bar fight, according to Turner,
and sentenced to 17 years to life in prison.
(Editing by Ken Wills)
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