A transgender woman who was assaulted by a male inmate while imprisoned in a men’s unit at an Arizona prison has been awarded $10,000 in a federal civil rights complaint.
Grace Pinson, 38, was named as Jeremy Pinson in court documents and defended herself during a four-day bench trial in a Tucson federal court.
She sought over $300,000 in damages.
On June 20, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Marquez concluded the case, awarding Pinson $10,000 “for her physical injuries, pain and suffering, and emotional distress arising from her physical injuries.”
In court records, Pinson claimed that her cellmate attempted to rape her in July 2019 and then beat her with closed fists for many minutes.
Pinson was transported to the hospital for treatment of nasal bone fractures.
Marquez discovered that the jail personnel had no idea that Pinson’s cellmate was threatening her.
However, the judge found the Tucson jail irresponsible in failing to verify that Pinson’s cell had a working duress alarm to alert staff of emergencies.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons stated on Wednesday that it “does not comment on matters of litigation” due to privacy, safety, and security concerns.
“The FBOP takes seriously our duty to protect the individuals entrusted in our custody, as well as maintain the safety of correctional employees and the community,” according to a statement. “We make every effort to ensure the physical safety and health of the individuals confined to our facilities through a controlled environment that is secure and humane.”
In 2007, Pinson was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after being charged with sending threatening letters to lawmakers and a federal judge in Oklahoma ABCNEWS stated.
On her web blog, Pinson stated that she was transported from a Minnesota jail to the high-security United States Penitentiary in Tucson after filing a lawsuit seeking “gender-affirming surgery.”