Gender Committee To Decide Where Transgendered Inmate Maria/Jose Torres To Be Jailed

[Whisper]

Maria/Jose Torres

A “Gender Identity Committee” will decide where a transgender woman with an extensive criminal record will be housed after she was sentenced this week to four years in prison on felony retail theft, battery and violation of probation charges, authorities said.
Maribel Torres, identified in court records as Jose Torres, was sentenced Tuesday at the Skokie courthouse to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to incidents in the women’s departments of stores in Skokie and Deerfield.

“She seems like she’s headed in the right direction to me,” said Cook County Assistant Public Defender Lisa Ottenfeld, who represented Torres during the sentencing hearing before Cook County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Chambers. “She’s come to terms with a lot of her issues.”
Torres, of Chicago, who has shoulder length brown hair, was born a male. But for more than 10 years Torres has identified as a woman, undergoing hormone treatments to enhance her female appearance, said authorities.

Transgender prisoners have long presented challenges for the Cook County Sherriff’s Department and the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to a sheriff’s department spokesman. Last March the state Department of Corrections modified its policy on transgender prisoners.
The policy notes that the department’s goal is to provide a safe and secure environment for all inmates who identify themselves as transgender, or who are identified by Cermak Health Services of Cook County as having gender identity disorder.

“… and to uphold the respect and dignity of these, and all, inmates,” the policy states. “This policy is a component of the Prison Rape Elimination Policy and thereby requires zero tolerance for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, including verbal or physical harassment or abuse of transgender inmates by other inmates or by employees.”
The policy also notes that transgender prisoners can ask to be placed in the male or female section of a prison, but that the final decision is made by a “Gender Identity Committee” that consists of medical, sheriff’s department and department of corrections representatives. That committee will decide where to house Torres.
“The Gender Identity Committee shall meet within 72 hours of the clinical verification that an inmate meets clinical criteria for the diagnosis of gender identity disorder. In preparation for this meeting, the Sheriff’s Medical Advocate shall meet with the inmate to solicit his/her preferences and requests with regard to housing, clothing, commissary, showering, grooming, recreation, programming, escort, transportation, searches and other matters. The inmate’s preferences and requests shall be considered but are not determinative,” the policy states.

Torres was originally housed in the male section of the Cook County jail after her arrest last year, but was subsequently moved to special unit in the jail where she received drug and counseling services, said Ottenfeld, the public defender said.
[...]
Torres has 10 previous felony convictions. On Tuesday she pleaded guilty to stealing a $2,000 Burberry handbag from a Nordstrom’s store in Skokie in 2008, and knocking down a store security worked who tried to stop her, said Ottenfeld.

Torres also pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1,000 worth of cosmetics from a Deerfield store in 2009.

She was sentenced to a total of three years in prison on each of the theft charges and three years in prison on an aggravated battery charge, with the sentences to run concurrently. She was also sentenced to an additional year in prison for violating her parole on a previous conviction.

http://triblocal.com/skokie/2012/01/...and-deerfield/

[malq]

This gender bending really pisses me off. Now we have a gender selection committee.
I think I will puke.

It was born a male so IT should go to a male prison. It's not the states fault It fucked with its gender and confused everybody.

They need shit like that in the penn, beside it will love it. That's what It does on the outside anyways.
Win Win

[Valasca]

Malq, you need a beating.

[malq]

Malq, you need a beating.

That was a really faggy post. Don't hate me because I am right.

[Valasca]

Don't hate you for your opinion. I just wish you understood it's not nice to say SHE deserves whatever she gets and that she'd like it.
Yes, SHE was born a man, but now SHE is a woman. She needs to be housed with the other women.

[malq]

Don't hate you for your opinion. I just wish you understood it's not nice to say SHE deserves whatever she gets and that she'd like it.
Yes, SHE was born a man, but now SHE is a woman. She needs to be housed with the other women.

She is not a woman and never will be. Cut off the cock and hang tits on it, still a guy.
You are so hung up on being PC you don't get that It wont be happy with the female inmates because there is no dick and no assplay. It would be much happier in the Penn with a bunch of ass reaming brutes. it wont even be a punishment fort It. Nothing worse than cutting your cock off and implanting tits to get more cock and then get thrown into a cage with a bunch of lesbians.
Seriously.

[nopatience]

Technically, she is still a he and should therefore be housed with males, IMO. I would think differently if she had completed the sex change.

No matter where she goes, there is someone who is going to disagree.

If she hadn't committed the crime, it wouldn't be an issue.

[Valasca]

Why do parts identify the gender? Shouldn;t it be what you feel?
If your penis were cut off in a tragic accident, would you be male or female? You'd be male because that's what you feel.
This woman proably still has her penis but is still a female.
And the only way I am PC is not saying the N word to african americans. Do not tell me how I think. You don't know.

[spifftastic]

You are so hung up on being PC you don't get that It wont be happy with the female inmates because there is no dick and no assplay. It would be much happier in the Penn with a bunch of ass reaming brutes. it wont even be a punishment fort It. Nothing worse than cutting your cock off and implanting tits to get more cock and then get thrown into a cage with a bunch of lesbians.
Seriously.

This has nothing to do with being PC, it has to do with accepting people's freedom of choice. Do you really feel like the government should have that much control over everything we do? If you don't approve of sex changes, then don't get one, simple as that. However, why do you think it should be your choice, or the government's choice, over what anyone else does with their lives? I am not just referencing this comment, but every homophobic comment you make on this site. Do you really feel like the government should start controlling your personal life, who you date, what you wear, what type of person you choose to be? Standing up for civil rights is hardly a matter of being PC, it's a matter of embracing basic American principles of freedom, innovation, and continuing to be the melting pot of various cultures.

It's a shame that there are still major proponents of hatred in this country, and that people like you make other people feel like second class citizens. If you don't feel comfortable around gays/transgendered people for whatever silly reason, then fine, limit yourself to associating with a narrow range of people. But why spread a message of hatred? There isn't enough already?

[Valasca]

@spifftastic said it better. Thanks.

[nopatience]

This has nothing to do with being PC, it has to do with accepting people's freedom of choice.

I agree with people's freedom of choice, but she committed a crime. By nature, she is a he. If she hadn't put herself in a position where she would be incarcerated, it wouldn't be an issue.

People should be free to live however they choose, but when they choose to commit a crime, they should have to deal with the consequences.

[Whisper]

Why do parts identify the gender? Shouldn;t it be what you feel?
If your penis were cut off in a tragic accident, would you be male or female? You'd be male because that's what you feel.
This woman proably still has her penis but is still a female.
And the only way I am PC is not saying the N word to african americans. Do not tell me how I think. You don't know.

So if I feel 80 some days I should get the senior discount??
I dont care who does what but by cutting boobs off doesnt make you a man,
if thats the case then women I have known that have had to have mastectomies are men now??
It all depends on work shes had done already
I dont know if he/shes got all of the male parts or more female or do they go on if you have more of one then the other??
What gets me more then where they will end up putting her/him, is the money wasted by tax payers having to decide whats what and where he/she should go or are they going to build seperate prisons now and use more money we dont have

I have a female friend that basically lives as a male shes not had ANYTHING done yet you would never know shes female
Anyways shes the first one to come out and say Chaz Bono isnt a man
she had a double mastectomy that doesnt automatically make you a man

[Nita]

I dont know about the whole if you cut off a certain body part it makes you one gender or the other...at the end of the day I feel they should go by how the person was born..they dont give female manly lesbians the option to go house in the mens jail..i dont think they should give a natural born male that option either. Just saying, sometimes the government doesn't stop to think. I'd like to know how a gender "identity" committee was formed and do other states have this as well?

[spifftastic]

I agree with people's freedom of choice, but she committed a crime. By nature, she is a he. If she hadn't put herself in a position where she would be incarcerated, it wouldn't be an issue.

People should be free to live however they choose, but when they choose to commit a crime, they should have to deal with the consequences.

I fully agree that people who commit crimes lose certain rights as a punishment, but I think there is a much bigger issue here than just where a few people go to jail. I think the bigger problem regards basic civil rights, and allowing people the freedom to do what they want. I think it is much more important to send out a message of acceptance of new waves of thinking than it is to deal with petty problems such as which jail someone should go to. Telling someone that he or she has to conform to traditional ways of thinking (like gender) is entirely setting back progress of freedom in the country, and it seems ridiculous to take backwards strides to keep someone in a different jail.

I feel like I didn't word that well, but I basically feel that sending the message of tolerance to all people is much more important than where one woman is sent to jail. When government starts accepting gays and transgendered people legally, citizens will begin to follow suit and accept alternative lifestyles and eliminate some of the hate.

[AngelFire]

I agree with people's freedom of choice, but she committed a crime. By nature, she is a he. If she hadn't put herself in a position where she would be incarcerated, it wouldn't be an issue.

People should be free to live however they choose, but when they choose to commit a crime, they should have to deal with the consequences.

I understand what Malq is trying to say (I say trying because in the midst of your post you go off on a tangent <3), and I agree with nopatience. By nature, this person is a male....what he feels in his heart and mind to me is not relevant because he is a MALE...

It has nothing to do with being homophobic, I am the mother of a gay son, and I am PROUD of my child. But this person is a male, has male reproductive organs, and should be housed with male prisoners not females.

@Whisper, now that you put that way I too feel like I should get the Early Bird Special on days I feel elderly. Doesn't mean I am entitled to it!

[Valasca]

Oh, thnap! I didn;t mean to start a full on flame war... did I?... No. No.
Largely I think malq is an intelligent person. But what pissed me off was that he alluded to the inmate deserving assrape every night. No, she does not. No one does... well, except child molesters. But that's a different flame war.
I hear all your points. I do not agree with some. My opinion, though, right? Doesn't make me hate everyone who disagrees with me.

[Pete Bondurant]

Execute this degenerate. Do so on my authority.

[nopatience]

I fully agree that people who commit crimes lose certain rights as a punishment, but I think there is a much bigger issue here than just where a few people go to jail. I think the bigger problem regards basic civil rights, and allowing people the freedom to do what they want. I think it is much more important to send out a message of acceptance of new waves of thinking than it is to deal with petty problems such as which jail someone should go to. Telling someone that he or she has to conform to traditional ways of thinking (like gender) is entirely setting back progress of freedom in the country, and it seems ridiculous to take backwards strides to keep someone in a different jail.

I feel like I didn't word that well, but I basically feel that sending the message of tolerance to all people is much more important than where one woman is sent to jail. When government starts accepting gays and transgendered people legally, citizens will begin to follow suit and accept alternative lifestyles and eliminate some of the hate.

I agree with everything you just said, except the jail part. She had to have some inkling that she would be sent to a man's prison based on her actual God given gender ~ not how she chooses to live. She has not had the corrective surgery to complete the transformation and therefore by all accounts is a man. I don't see that as a civil right thing. Had she had the surgery then the argument could be made, imo. At this point in time, I don't feel it is about hate or accepting alternative lifestyles. Technically, PHYSICALLY, she is a he. If she didn't want to deal with a man's prison, she should not have put herself in that position.

[Pete Bondurant]

This thing is not a woman. It needs to be exterminated. Such a calamity upon nature shall not tolerated. This is my unshakable belief.

[Gidget]

Protective custody. She won't be safe in general population of either gender.

And can I just say, DAMN. She makes an ugly woman. Poor thing.

[Pete Bondurant]

Who cares if it will be safe? What is this thing? Shall we tolerate this? I say...not. I will not allow it. Dispense with this filth. Disgusting....

[Nita]

I'm sorry but, LMAO@Pete he has me cracking up with his responses. But in all fairness...if they start making considerations for one transgender person, then they're going to start making considerations for them all. Seriously, what do they expect from someone who is obviously gay & likes men. You can't stop it, but I dont think he should get a choice as to whether or not he should be housed with women. If you were born a man, you should get housed with men. And thats my final opinion on this story lol.

[malq]

This has nothing to do with being PC, it has to do with accepting people's freedom of choice. Do you really feel like the government should have that much control over everything we do? If you don't approve of sex changes, then don't get one, simple as that. However, why do you think it should be your choice, or the government's choice, over what anyone else does with their lives? I am not just referencing this comment, but every homophobic comment you make on this site. Do you really feel like the government should start controlling your personal life, who you date, what you wear, what type of person you choose to be? Standing up for civil rights is hardly a matter of being PC, it's a matter of embracing basic American principles of freedom, innovation, and continuing to be the melting pot of various cultures.

It's a shame that there are still major proponents of hatred in this country, and that people like you make other people feel like second class citizens. If you don't feel comfortable around gays/transgendered people for whatever silly reason, then fine, limit yourself to associating with a narrow range of people. But why spread a message of hatred? There isn't enough already?

Get a grip, let me guess...
You drive a 75 volvo with a Celebrate Diversity bumpersticker, complimented by a Rainbow One and a Join Hands Against Hate sticker plastered on the fading paint and covering rust. Oh and the Lucky Dyke one on the rear window, or was it Save A Tranny?

I find it ironic you cannot accept anyone else's opinion while shoving yours down everyones throat. No pun intended. Calling people who think differently than you, homophobic when they take a stand or have a different point of view is homophobic-phobic. Why are you afraid of homophobes? Is it possible you actually latently agree with me, but are afraid to take another side because you are worried what the sheep will think? You will learn to love me. I promise.

As far as the government controlling my life, they are by facilitating special sections of prison and committees on taxpayer dollars to accommodate people like this in my opinion. The bottom line here is if you are born male you cannot change that and have to live with it when it is time to stop the playing Ken and Barbie/mr potato hybrid game. If in my mind I am Superman, that is great until I try to fly. You may be able to live as a woman until you infringe on everyone else's rights like hanging out in womens bathrooms and going to womens prisons. Then having the gall to attempt to force people to tolerate it through people like yourself.As I said, It will probably not want to go to a womans prison anyways. No meat there. Problem solved.

Don't make me have to explain why most men hate trannies, crossdressers and parts swappers.

[Valasca]

Please, @malq. Explain. I want to understand another opinion.

[4Cats]

Don't make me have to explain why most men hate trannies, crossdressers and parts swappers.

this will be interesting.

[Redshoes]

It was born a male so IT should go to a male prison. It's not the states fault It fucked with its gender and confused everybody.

Yeah, "it" was also born a PERSON. Jesus. No wonder you don't think she deserves any rights. You aren't even treating her like a human being.

[bluewr]

So to please another inmate, this person should go to jail and become a toy for another inmate's enjoyment?
How does that logic work?

[Pete Bondurant]

Yeah, "it" was also born a PERSON. Jesus. No wonder you don't think she deserves any rights. You aren't even treating her like a human being.

Dear me...it appears that Our Malquolm has distressed the Judy Garland acolyte from Berkeley. How....delightful.

[malq]

So to please another inmate, this person should go to jail and become a toy for another inmate's enjoyment?
How does that logic work?

Who said that? I said it will likely WANT to go to a mens prison. It turned into a woman for a reason, not because It wanted to pursue lesbian activity. If you study prison mentality at all, there are a slew of men in there who pretend to be women. it is their niche, they FLAUNT IT. It's a win win. Besides this thing is a criminal. The decision should be based on what it really is, which is a man.

The reason most guys hate trannies is obvious. I am surprised I got more than one person who had to ask. But I do realize this site is 98% estrogen. So I give you that for not understanding men as if you were one.
They are notorious for tricking straight men into a blowjob or some kind of sex without revealing what they are. Straight guys hate that shit. When was the last time you heard of a tranny walking up to a man and saying "I have a cock, would you like to date?'Or, "To be honest I was a woman before my addadictome and now I am a man dressed like a woman but you will never know until after I blow you." No, they take it as far as they can and then require kid gloves and special treatment.
This results in trannies being beat up, sliced and diced and even killed. Then everyone feels sorry for the tranny. And before you jump on your high horse and pontificate how I condone killing trannies, I don't, but it happens and is no surprise.

Now, back to the question of is it a man or a woman? That is pretty obvious no matter what it is wearing that it is what It was born as. You can't change chromosomes. YET>>>
Watch out next time you are squatting in that public bathroom. If you have it your way, in the stall next to you, it may be a guy having a wank listening to you fart. Chances are it has already happened.

[Valasca]

Bah, stupid phone. I typed out a large response and it opted to not go through.
Long story short, I think @malq made his point and i'll try to remember this IF or when he makes another negative comment towards trannies.