CASE STUDIES: MALES IN WOMEN’S PRISONS

Jason Michael Hann, also known as Jessica Marie Hann, beat two of his infant children to death. The bodies were concealed in storage facilities. He was sentenced in 2014 to 30 years for the murder of his 2-month old son, Jason, and was sentenced to death for the killing of his 10-week old daughter, Montana. At the time of arrest, a third infant was discovered to be showing signs of abuse. His common-law wife, and the mother of the children, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
By 2019 Hann had ‘transitioned’ while being held on death row at San Quentin and was subsequently transferred to Central California Women’s Facility. This had been where the mother of the  murdered children were held, but his transfer compelled her to request a move out of CCWF and to California Institution for Women.

David Warfield, also known as Dana Rivers, is a former teacher who had been terminated in 1999 following accusations of discussing his “transition” with students. Rivers was arrested in 2016 after emerging covered in blood from the property of married couple Patricia Wright and Charlotte Reed. The two women had both been stabbed and shot and their 19-year old son had been stabbed. The women had been regular attendees of the Michigan Womyn’s Mustic Festival (Michfest), which was established as a women-only event in 1976. Rivers had been an active member of “Camp Trans,” an annual demonstration against Michfest. Rivers was charged with three counts of murder and arson, among other charges.
Transgender former teacher at Center High School Dana Rivers arrested in Oakland killings | The Sacramento Bee (sacbee.com)
He was finally brought to trial and found guilty by a jury in late 2022. While awaiting trial Rivers was housed in a unit in Santa Rita Jail in California, which had been designated as housing for mentally ill incarcerated women. Whether Rivers is sent to a mental hospital or to prison, it is anticipated he will be housed in a women’s unit under current California law.

Richard Masbruch, also known as Sherri Lashure, was convicted in 1991 of rape, sodomy, false imprisonment, torture and burglary. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. After successfully amputating his penis, he was eventually transferred to a women’s prison.
The women he was imprisoned with reported that he was attacking and raping women with an object. One female prisoner filed a grievance contending that she was experiencing constant panic attacks and that Masbruch’s presence violated her right to be housed only with women.
Masbruch is currently housed in the women’s prison according to reports. However, the California prison system has removed him from the searchable inmate locator.

Rodney James, also known as Shiloh Heavenly Quine, was convicted in 1981 of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to life with no possibility of parole.
Initially he was housed in a men’s prison where is 2009 he began ‘living as a woman’. In 2017 he became the first US inmate to have taxpayer-funded ‘reassignment’ surgery after he brought a lawsuit which was settled in 2015 (NBC News, 23 March 2017, Lloyd Billingsley, California Globe, 9 June 2019). He was then moved from Mule Creek State Prison for men to Chowchilla Women’s Prison. As a result of the lawsuit California became the first state to set standards for transgender inmates to undergo reassignment surgery.
Reports in 2020 suggest that he has sexually harassed and intimidated women in prison and is one of several male prisoners housed there.

Jeffrey Bryan Norsworthy, also known as Michelle Lael Norsworthy, was convicted in 1986 of second degree murder and sentenced to 17 years to life. He was sent to Mule Creek State Prison for men. In the 1990s he began ‘living as a woman’ and in 2000 began hormone treatment.  In 2015 he was paroled (Daily Mail, 7 August 2015) and underwent reassignment surgery in 2017.
In 2018 he was arrested for parole violation and the use of tear gas and was sent to Chowchilla Women’s Prison where he was housed for several years until released.

Shawn Merle Gustafson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after pleading “no contest” to charges of molesting a six year old and an eight year old boy.
Minimum 30-Year-Sentence For Convicted Child Molester | KRCR (krcrtv.com)
Gustafson is housed in California Institution for Women.

Andre Patterson, also known as Janiah Monroe, has been convicted of multiple violent felonies, including murder. He strangled a male cellmate with his bare hands. While corrections officials sought to maintain housing Patterson in a men’s prison, the Illinois governor’s office overruled this resulting in Patterson being housed at the women’s Logan Correctional Center.
After being moved a women’s prison unit, he was accused of raping a female inmate, among other claims of sexual assaults.
Transgender inmate accused of rape | News | Illinois Times Patterson, who is over 6 feet tall and almost 200 pounds, remains housed at Logan.
Patterson is currently the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit which won preliminary injunctive relief providing the plaintiffs: transgender medicalization (hormones, surgery), search protocols (class members “to choose the gender of the correctional officer who will conduct a search of their person,” access to private shower, “gender affirming” commissary items, and housing transfers. Judge orders Illinois to improve treatment of transgender people in prisons (americanindependent.com)

Jordan Kuykendall, also known as Sora, murdered his 17 year old ex-girlfriend when he was 20. Kuykendall was one of several men moved to Logan Correctional Center, a women’s prison, in 2021 resulting from litigation in federal court. As part of his Declaration to the court prior to being moved to Logan Kuykendall described that he had attempted to castrate himself, had not been provided “feminine grooming and cosmetic products and women’s clothing” and complained that his requests to be strip-searched by a female guard had not been answered.
Kuykendall is on the sex offender registry and is not eligible for parole until 2053.

Diego Melendez, also known as Marilyn, was convicted of multiple felonies including murder. Melendez was one of several men moved to Logan Correctional Center, a women’s prison, in 2021 resulting from litigation in federal court. As part of his Declaration to the court prior to being moved to Logan, Melendez described that after he began hormone therapy, he was not provided a bra and filed a grievance to obtain one because “not having a bra is linked to back strain, depression and suicidal thoughts, and the lack of a bra made the movement of my breasts more noticeable and led to increased harassment.” He further wrote, “I am not truly able to experience life as a woman in my current circumstances at IDOC. I am not allowed to wear any female clothing or undergarments except for the sports bra I was issued.” Melendez weighs over 300 pounds. His earliest expected parole is 2042.

Eric Padilla, also known as Lydia Helena Vision, was convicted of attempted murder in what prosecutors called a racially motivated stabbing of a black man. Padilla was one of several men moved to Logan Correctional Center, a women’s prison, in 2021 resulting from litigation in federal court. As part of his Declaration to the court prior to being moved to Logan, Padilla wrote: “Because I am in a male facility, when IDOC searches me I get searched by a man. If I were in a women’s facility I believe that these kinds of searches would be performed by women. To have a male touch me makes me feel sick.” Padilla is six feet tall and 237 pounds with numerous anarchy tattoos. His projected discharge date is 2025.

Andrew Balcer stabbed his mother and father and then also killed the family dog. After being convicted and sentenced, he was transferred to the Maine Correctional Center: Women’s Center.

Alberto Rodriguez Marrero, also known as Rona Sugar Love, served 25 years for two murders, including shooting a woman in the head.
Since leaving prison has been arrested for assaulting a woman is being held for attempted murder and robbery (three separate incidents).
Marrero is being held in a women’s facility on Riker’s Island awaiting trial.

Harvey Marcelin, who murdered one girlfriend in 1963 and another in  1985, serving more than 50 years in prison, was arrested again for murder in 2022. He is accused of killed a third woman whom he had befriended. Amongst the evidence of this killing is a video of Marcelin shopping in a motorized wheelchair sitting on top of the victim’s severed leg.
The murder took place after Marcelin was permitted to stay at a women’s homeless shelter over the objection of staff. One staff member reports that she noted at Marcelin’s intake that “placing [Marcelin] in a women’s shelter seemed like a bad idea, given [Marcelin’s] history of killing women.”
https://archive.ph/kc6AT
Marcelin is being held in a women’s facility on Riker’s Island in New York City awaiting trial.

Nikki Secondino was arrested for murdering his father with a hammer and a knife and then stabbing his sister. He is being held without bail in the women’s unit at Riker’s Island jail in New York City.

Ramel Blount was being held in a women’s unit at Riker’s Island jail in New York City. While there he raped a female inmate in the shower area.
He was sentenced to seven years in prison and required to register as a sex offender.
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He is currently housed in a men’s prison.

Cole has a long criminal record (including previously being charged with murder and assault for which he served time on other charges) and was being held in a county jail after having escaped a halfway house. He is accused of raping his female cellmate. He has since been moved to the Ohio Reformatory for Women. The release date under his current sentence is 2023.

Steven Buchanan, also known as Susan Monica, was convicted of murdering two people and feeding them to pigs.
Buchanan was sentenced to a minimum of 50 years in prison and is housed in a women’s prison.

Douglas Perry, also known as Donna Perry, is a serial murderer of women.
He has been sentenced to life without parole after being convicted of murdering three prostitutes. The Judge noted that “the murders seemingly were committed for the sport of it and for no other reason.”
Perry is housed at Washington Corrections Center for Women.

Hobbie Bingham, also known as Princess Zoee Marie Andromeda-Love, is a registered sex offender who sexually assaulted a 12 year old girl.
Bingham is housed at the Washington Corrections Center for Women.

Bryan Kim was sentenced to life without parole for strangling his mother to death and stabbing his father to death.
Kim is housed at the Washington Corrections Center for Women.

John Forrester murdered a man and a woman by beating and slashing their throats.
He has been sentenced to life without parole and is housed at Washington Corrections Center for Women.

Nathan Goninan, also known as Nonnie Lotusflower, murdered a 17 year old girl by strangling her. While in jail prior to pleading guilty, he was charged for attempting to escape. While imprisoned in Oregon, Goninan filed a court complaint for being refused the Satanic Bible. He is housed at the Washington Corrections Center for Women.

Michael Allen Campbell, also known as Nicole Rose, was sentenced to 34 years in prison in 2007 after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting his own daughter.
Approximately six years later, Campbell sought a “sex change operation.” Following years of litigation, in 2020 a judge ordered that Campbell was entitled to the surgery and to be housed in a women’s prison while awaiting the operation.
Nicole Rose Campbell: Trans inmate who raped daughter can receive sex change surgery on taxpayer’s dime, judge rules (MEAWW)

Peter Langan, also known as Donna, robbed 22 banks as “Commander Pedro” of the white supremacist group the Aryan Republican Army.
He was sentenced to life in prison and is housed in a federal women’s prison.

Brian Thompson, also known as Linda Patricia, is a bank robber. At least twice he committed robberies with stated goal of being returned to prison.
He had been housed in a federal women’s prison. According to a complaint filed by incarcerated women, Thompson “threatened to rape female inmates” while there.
He is now housed in a men’s prison and is eligible for release in 2023.

Cristian Noel Iglesias, also known as Cristina Nicole, has been a repeat offender for mailing threatening communications, having been separately sentenced for 30 months, 52 months, 46 months and, most recently 240 months for threatening use of weapon of mass destruction.
A federal judge ordered the Bureau of Prisons to evaluate Iglesias for “gender confirmation surgery. He is coded in the system as “female” with a release date of August 2023. He is housed in a facility with both men and women and believed to be in the women’s section.