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Lawsuit: Transgender inmate killed after sheriff made a violent sex offender her cellmate (www.desertsun.com)
submitted 1 year ago by UngodlyAudrey@beehaw.org to c/usnews@beehaw.org
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[–] UngodlyAudrey@beehaw.org 56 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The parents of a woman who was beaten to death at a county jail last year are suing the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, alleging failures by several of its leaders and deputies allowed her to be killed by her cellmate.

Chief among the failures, the lawsuit says: Deputies gave Kaushal Niroula, who was transgender, a sex offender cellmate with a violent past.

The new filing adds to the cascade of similar suits over inmate deaths that have been recently against the department, which is also being investigated by the state attorney general over the deaths and other allegations of misconduct and civil rights violations.

A record 18 inmates died in the jails in 2022.

The suit states that the department acted negligently and in violation of both the constitution and state law by allowing Niroula to be housed in a cell with Ronald Sanchez, a man who was a convicted sex offender and had a history of violent behavior. The sheriff's department manages all jails in Riverside County.

The suit states that sheriff’s personnel knew Sanchez posed an imminent threat to Niroula, who was particularly vulnerable because she was transgender and HIV-positive, and yet the sheriff's department allowed the two to be housed together at the Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.

The cops murdered her.

[–] EnglishMobster@kbin.social 36 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Murrieta

That's the problem right there.

Murrieta is very much part of an island of conservativism in the rest of California. It's very much a green grass, "whites only" kind of place. Oodles of Mormons. Not exactly friendly to LGBTQ folk.

I lived there. I went to high school there. It was where I voted for the first time.

I remember in high school thinking a girl was cute and she invited me over on a Sunday morning. She picked me up for what I thought was going to be a day of just hanging out at her place - but instead, she dragged me to her Mormon church. The preacher spoke out about how proud they were that they were able to pass Prop 8 (which banned gay marriage in California), how hard they fought for it, and how evil LGBTQ folk were. I was disgusted, but at the time I couldn't drive (and thus couldn't leave). When I finally escaped, I made a point to never talk to that girl again.

That is absolutely par for the course in Murrieta (and Temecula). They live in a total bubble and refuse to acknowledge that they're part of California proper. A friendly reminder that the Temecula Valley School District (which represents both Murrieta and Temecula) is being sued by the State of California because they decided to promote racism and anti-LGBTQ sentiment within schools, in violation of state law.

Public Counsel, the nonprofit group that filed the lawsuit on behalf of Temecula students, parents and teachers, claims the policy has been used by school board members to stop teaching "any concepts that conflict with their ideological viewpoints, including the history of the LGBTQ rights movement and the existence of racism in today's society."

Murrieta-Temecula is full of bigots, all hiding under their mask. But when you live there, you see the mask slip... especially if you're a cis white male "good ol' boy" like how I present.

[–] gothicdecadence@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

I've been to Murrieta and Temecula several times but I didn't realize how bad it was there, damn

[–] Shhalahr@beehaw.org 8 points 1 year ago

Stochastic murder.

[–] Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 44 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

God I fucking hate US prisons. This is the thing about my country I am the most ashamed of.

This is gonna happen again, to right-wing jan 6 insurrectionist Jessica Watkins. A trans woman who is likely to be put into a male prison for 8 years.

[–] chahk@beehaw.org 15 points 1 year ago (5 children)

This is gonna happen again, to right-wing jan 6 insurrectionist Jessica Watkins. A trans woman who is likely to be put into a male prison for 8 years.

That's exactly what she voted and insurrected for, right? A trans republican getting the taste of their anti-trans party's own medicine.

[–] Gaywallet@beehaw.org 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I don't think that the punishment meets the crime. No one deserves to be treated inhumanely in prison. No matter how mislead this person is, that's a terrible outcome.

[–] chahk@beehaw.org 11 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I can agree in principle. However, I can make exceptions for when people who vote for policies that promote and encourage discrimination experience the fruits of their labor first-hand.

[–] BartsBigBugBag@lemmy.tf 9 points 1 year ago

Then you have no principle with which to agree. You can’t be a fair weather ethicist. You either believe in human rights for ALL, including pieces of shit, or you don’t believe in them for ANYONE.

“Message to my enemies: when the revolution comes you’re not just gonna get the wall, Buddy, you’re gonna get four walls, a roof, clean clothes, good food, education, and quality health care, because that’s what every human being alive deserves.”

[–] Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well, if it were extrajudicial I would agree. Leopards ate her face. But this is our country's judicial system. It isn't wholly owned by the far right (though it's wildly close).

[–] Facebones@reddthat.com 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Precisely this. I tend to extend the tolerance paradox to violence, sometimes people have never been punched in the face and it shows. Just like tolerance of intolerance only allows intolerance to spread and shit all over everything, so does pacifism in the face of violence. I don't want her to be hurt, but she supported a system and society that sees violence against trans as a core value and she doesn't get to shocked Pikachu when she reaps the fruits of her labors.

Sucks to suck. 🤷

[–] Nechesh@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

We don't sentence & punish people based on their politics. That way leads only to crazy fascism.

[–] Whom@beehaw.org 23 points 1 year ago

Yes, and there's an irony to it. That doesn't change that it's cruel and absolutely not something that should be happening even to the worst people out there, regardless of how much we hate them or if it's exactly what they were pushing to make even worse.

[–] LoamImprovement@beehaw.org 17 points 1 year ago

I'm sorry, do you want bad things to happen to trans people? Yeah, she's an insurrectionist, no, that doesn't mean she should get put in harm's way as part of her sentencing. Find your fucking heart.

[–] heliodorh@beehaw.org 9 points 1 year ago

Are trans rights human rights or not? You think it's fine for a trans women to be raped and murdered in a men's prison because her politics are shit? Well, thanks for letting us know where you stand.

[–] Nechesh@beehaw.org 7 points 1 year ago

No one deserves to be raped and murdered in prison. The justice system is far from perfect but we don't sentence people to be raped and then murdered. We do rarely sentence people to death, but not by vigilante shanking or beating.

[–] bermuda@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's so difficult to argue for a better prison system too, because a lot of people seem to think you're siding with the prisoners.

[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 7 points 1 year ago (3 children)

What's so bad about siding with the "prisoners"? Not with the "criminals" mind you, just the "prisoners".

In many countries, prisons have the mandate to "reeducate and reinsert into society", and while privation of liberty is a punishment in itself, it's intended only as a way to turn criminals too dangerous to let loose, into upstanding citizens once they do their time.

Prisoners can be "citizens in the making", not just "criminals thrown in a hole". That might be the first point to try to get through.

[–] bermuda@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm saying people will say absurd things like "so you think it's okay to murder people?" I have genuinely had people ask me that when I complained about our inhumane prison system.

[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

I know what you mean, we have a "reeducate and reinsert" penal system in Spain, and some people keep asking for the death penalty for murderers. Dead people can't become a member of society! 🙄

It's just the Overton window, we have it still towards the side of reeducation, but some people keep trying to push it towards punishment. In the US, it's already leaning towards punishment... and those people you mention, are the ones pushing it... so if you want that to change, you need to push it the other way.

Something like "so you think throwing people away is a good use of resources?". Follow up with a joke about Soylent Green, or something, to make it look less confrontational... but ultimately it needs to be something farther away than your actual position, just like they do 🤷

[–] Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 year ago

These are great arguments ans genuinely I've never heard an American say them.

[–] jonne@infosec.pub 1 points 1 year ago

Look at how they turned Bernie Sanders into "the guy who wanted to let the Boston bomber vote" for advocating for prisoner rights.

[–] Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 year ago

Exactly, a significant portion of people aren't able to argue about this in good faith and need to be walked through this long list of deep ethics questions in order to sorta meet the right answer.

[–] TigrisMorte@kbin.social 31 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Executed with extra steps.

[–] Facebones@reddthat.com 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Duh. Republicans and Police are all terrorists, full stop. Their supporters as well. Lock them ALL up and quash any resistence as necessary in line with appropriate escalation of force.

EDIT: Blocked the terrorist who thinks opposing the actively stated Republican goals of trans genocide is "fear porn." Same with the rest of you. IDGAF. Enjoy crying in your faschie groups how I wouldn't "engage with your arguments" (just name calling) and good fucking luck when you actually try to come for us IRL.

[–] HubertManne@kbin.social 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is one of those things I don't consider a transgender issue. Jails, prisons, etc should allow each cell to have a maximum capacity of one. Fact is that not everyone convicted is guilty but many in the system are dangerous. Heck all meals should be taken in the cells and convicts should not have to go to yard time if they don't want to.

[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The downside of "cells of one", is people who get suicidal. In civilized countries, new inmates get paired with a "trusted inmate" for the first couple weeks, both to show them the ropes, but also to prevent them from hanging themselves with one.

[–] HubertManne@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Im not so sure in the US system that cell mate will prevent suicide. I also do not see suicide as nearly as bad as getting killed by your cellmate. At least the suicide wanted to die and made that decision.

[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yeah... from the descriptions of this case, it seems like it was more of an execution, with other inmates high-fiving the killer as he was beating the victim, and personnel conspicuously absent for over an hour even as it was being recorded on camera.

Then again, there was the Epstein case, where he was "left alone" and just the cameras and all checks "happened to fail" all at the same time.

[–] derin@lemmy.beru.co 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Here's some more info on the case (why she was in jail), for those curious.

[–] Devi@beehaw.org 27 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's clear that she did something awful, but she doesn't deserve a greater punishment than other people convicted of the same crime, I think that's the point being made here.

[–] derin@lemmy.beru.co 7 points 1 year ago

I completely agree; was just sharing context because I felt the article kind of assumed you knew the prior reporting.

I'm not, in any way, saying she deserved what happened to her or anything like that.

It's pretty clear that the guards let that happen (the whole "no one checked in on the cell for 68 minutes" thing when everyone is supposed to be checked at least once an hour), and that's not okay.

[–] wulfinna@beehaw.org 6 points 1 year ago

Jesus fucking Christ....