Transgender inmate moved from female to male facility after impregnating two inmates

Authorities in New Jersey have transferred a transgender inmate who impregnated two inmates while detained at the Edna Mahan Women’s Correctional Facility, the Department of Corrections said, per NJ.com.
The inmate, identified as Demi Minor, 27, was transferred to Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in June, Department of Corrections spokesman Dan Sperrazza said. Sperrazza added that Minor is currently the only inmate at the facility.
Following the incident, Sperrazza said the women became pregnant as a result of “consensual sex with another incarcerated person”. Face2Face Africa reported at the time.
The minor was sentenced to 30 years in prison for manslaughter, according to corrections department records. She will become eligible for parole in 2037.
And although the outlet was unable to reach Minor and her lawyer for comment, the transgender inmate shared a July 5 article on her website in which she accused prison officers of beating her and forcibly transferred to Garden State Youth Correctional Facility.
The DOC announced that it had opened an investigation into Minor’s allegations. “The NJDOC cannot comment on any ongoing investigation,” the DOC said in a statement. “The Department has zero tolerance for abuse, and the safety and security of the prison population and staff is of paramount importance.”
Edna Mahan Correctional Facility is New Jersey’s only women’s prison. The state passed a policy in June of last year that requires state prisons to house transgender people based on their gender identity rather than their sex assigned at birth. The move was welcomed by activists, given that many transgender inmates in the United States are incarcerated based on their sex assigned at birth and are commonly harassed.
Jeanne LoCicero, legal director for the ACLU’s New Jersey Chapter, said the current policy “reflects best practices for ensuring the health, dignity, and safety of persons in custody (DOC).”
Following reports of two inmates who became pregnant by the transgender inmate, Governor Phil Murphy said issues with how to properly segregate prisoners at Edna Mahan are “among the many reasons” he has ordered the closure of the establishment, NJ.com reported.
“Part of the reason for its closure — and there are many, unfortunately — is the inability to separate populations based on incidences or behaviors,” Murphy said. “And that’s on a long list of reasons why it needs to be shut down and it’s ongoing.”
In 2021, Murphy revealed the state’s plans to close the prison after reports that prison officers had “violently removed women from their cells and brutalized them in the middle of the night.”