Compassionate Justice Institute
The problem
Between 6,000 and 10,000 transgender individuals are incarcerated in federal and state prisons, who are disproportionately trans people of color. Transgender people in custody are victims of sexual violence at massively higher rates than the general prison population: 37% of transgender inmates report sexual assault in prison compared to 3% of the general prison population.
While incarcerated, transgender and queer people are regularly placed in solitary confinement or otherwise segregated from the general prison population. Such isolation is nationally and internationally recognized as torture.
This injustice is part of a larger systemic failure. Of the 29,000 in federal custody living with terminal or life-threatening conditions who have filed for compassionate release or sentence reduction since 2018, only 16%, or less than 5,000 people have been able to access this relief.
Our solution
- Connect incarcerated individuals with educational, legal, and psychological resources to help them navigate the many barriers the carceral system places in their way and advocate for their rights, dignity, and safety.
- Educate legal professionals and non-profits about best practices for accessing compassionate justice alternatives for the clients and populations they serve.
- Cultivate a national network of experts in state/federal prison procedure, legal, psychological and medical experts to conduct research and discovery.
Our founder:
CJI’s founder Dee Farmer has been at the forefront of prison litigation for four decades. She is the plaintiff and architect of the landmark Supreme Court case, Farmer v. Brennan , one of the most cited cases in criminal justice. Her case was the first time the court had considered whether people in federal custody had a right to be protected from harm.
Farmer v. Brennan also laid the groundwork for the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Beyond her SCOTUS case, Farmer has built more than 1,000 cases through original research, discovery, drafting of filing and pleadings, and work to secure expert witnesses and counsel for plaintiffs. Her work has resulted in improvements to prison policies and conditions, delivery of medical and mental healthcare, and reductions of sentences and compassionate release, among many other concrete reliefs.
Farmer is a nationally recognized expert on compassionate justice for incarcerated trans and queer people. She has served as a consultant to national organizations including the ACLU , Human Rights Watch , NCLR , GLAD , and the DC Public Defender Service . She has handled cases in all eleven federal circuits and in many state courts. Through her work, she has built a national community of experts in law, psychology, medicine, social work, and many others who stand alongside her as she fights to ensure the rights, dignity, and safety of all incarcerated people.