Strawberry Hampton is a Black transgender woman who was in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) from April 2015 to July 2019. She spent the majority of her sentence housed in men’s prisoners, where she survived numerous sexual assaults and endured constant harassment and threats. The MacArthur Justice Center, along with colleagues from the Uptown People’s Law Center, filed three civil rights lawsuits on behalf of Strawberry and litigated two preliminary injunctions. After litigating the first preliminary injunction, we secured her transfer from Menard, a maximum security prison, to Lawrence, a medium security prison with a reputation for providing adequate care to transgender women. Unfortunately, the abuse continued in her new placement, so we filed another motion for a preliminary injunction seeking her transfer to a women’s prison. After a three day evidentiary hearing in September 2018, the court granted our motion for preliminary injunction and ordered that the Defendants train all correctional staff on transgender issues and reconsider Strawberry’s request for transfer to a women’s prison. Strawberry’s case is the second case in the country in which a federal court has recognized that a prison’s decision to mis-assign transgender people is a form of unlawful discrimination. After this decision, the IDOC transferred Strawberry to a women’s prison in December 2018. She was the first transgender woman transferred to a woman’s prison as a result of litigation.
While Strawberry had completed her original sentence, she faced an extra 9 months due to retaliation for reporting sexual assault and pursuing legal action. However, we filed a petition for clemency on her behalf that received the support of over 30 community organizations. Days before the hearing on her clemency petition, the Prisoner Review Board (PRB) approved the request for good time restoration, and she was released from custody on July 8, 2019.
We are currently litigation two of Strawberry’s cases seeking compensation for the abuse and discrimination she suffered while in IDOC custody.
In June 2021, we defeated summary judgement in a case on behalf of Strawberry involving damages claims against officers at two different men’s prisons who sexually and physically abused and harassed her.
Being in prison, transgender (people) have no rights to their body. They have no right or opinion to anything. What we are told in prison is we are animals.
We defeated summary judgement in a case on behalf of Ms. Hampton involving damages claims against officers at two different men’s prisons who sexually and physically abused and harassed her.
Ms. Hampton continued to fight for her justice and IDOC approved the request for good time restoration. She was released from custody on July 8, 2019.
After a year of legal fights and placement in four male prisons, throughout which she was subjected to abuse and sexual assault, Ms. Hampton has finally been transferred to Logan Correctional Center, a women’s prison.
Federal judge in southern Illinois ordered state prison officials to re-evaluate Hampton’s previously denied request for transfer. The judge also mandated Ms. Hampton be allowed to attend a transgender support group and ordered IDOC to develop training on transgender issues for all staff.
The preliminary injunction hearing was held from September 12 to September 14.
Following the court granting the motion to amend, a new complaint was filed that includes more recent abuse, harassment and neglect that has occurred and continues to occur while Ms. Hampton is detained at Dixon Correctional Center.
For the third time, Ms. Hampton files for emergency relief from the courts. After each filing, IDOC transferred her and the emergency motions were withdrawn by her counsel. After each transfer, Ms. Hampton’s circumstances improved for a few days or weeks, but then deteriorated in violation of her constitutional rights.
At Dixon, prison officials continued their abuse and harassment of Ms. Hampton. In one instance, officers gave her a ticket and pepper sprayed her in the face while she rolled up into a ball on the floor and cried, then gave her another ticket for failing to cooperate with the officers.
After being transferred to Lawrence Correctional Center, guards continued to award Ms. Hampton false disciplinary tickets resulting in extended stay in extreme segregation. At the time of the filing, Ms. Hampton has spent over nine months in solitary confinement, being kept alone in her cell 24 hours a day, with only occasional permission to leave her cell to take a shower. She was denied mental health treatment and as a result attempted suicide multiple times while in segregation.
A settlement was reached with the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) to immediately remove Ms. Hampton from her dangerous environment and transfer her to Lawrence Correctional Center, a medium security men’s prison, while awaiting a hearing of IDOC’s Gender ID Committee to evaluate her permanent placement. Plaintiff retains right to pursue future legal action if necessary.
While in custody at Pinckneyville Correctional Center, Ms. Hampton was the victim of a series of sexual assaults in which a group of officers came to her cell, ordered her to strip to her underwear and forced her to perform sexual acts with her cellmate for the officers’ entertainment.
These same officers continued to sexually harass and physically abuse her. Officers withheld support services, basic privileges and even a regular shower. She was denied food and she lost 35 pounds. She continued to file multiple grievance reports detailing her abuse, but none were acted upon. Instead, she continued to be punished for speaking out, accumulating so many false disciplinary tickets that she was transferred to Menard Correctional Center, a high security men’s prison.
After being transferred to Menard, Ms. Hampton’s abused by guards continued, her complaints to mental health staff was ignored, and she was immediately sent to solitary confinement. Due to the amount of retaliatory disciplinary tickets she had accumulated, she was sentenced to an extended stay in segregation.
Ms. Hampton was transferred to Menard Correctional Center, a high security men’s prison, because she reported the guards who routinely sexually harassed and physically abused her at Pinckneyville. Menard officials began abusing Ms. Hampton in retaliation before she even set foot on the premises, beating and choking her on the bus ride to the prison. While housed at Menard, officers continued to harass and abuse her, including making her perform sexually in her cell for their entertainment.