Regarding the case of Kosilek, who murdered her wife by garroting her, receiving sex reassignment surgery (SRS), the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed the 2 previous rulings which ordered the prison system to provide SRS. Though in the past, my sympathies lay with granting SRS, I actually see where the original Judge, Judge Wolf, erred in his ruling. It all has to do with the court-appointed expert and who he said gave medically reasonable choices for the prison system.
Originally, the court-appointed expert said that both the SRS view and the no-SRS-but-maintain-hormones-etc., view were reasonable, meaning prison officials could choose either. However, Judge Wolf erred when he then put conditions on the court-appointed expert in terms of his evaluation of the situation, which forced him to say only SRS was reasonable. The majority in the en banc decision lit Judge Wolf up on that and went with what the court-appointed expert originally said instead. As the prison officials had a choice, they were free to make the choice most amenable to the running of a prison system. Prisoners don't get a choice; they've lost that right. The majority also cited medical reports that said suicidal patients or patients who attempt suicide actually make worse candidates for SRS than patients who are not like that.
The decision seems reasonable and I see no reason for the Supreme Court to grant certiorari, considering that generally the circuit courts are in agreement with the general necessity of hormones, but are also in agreement with the general lack of necessity of SRS.
Too bad for Kosilek, but she should have thought of that before garroting her wife so violently her wife barely even had a neck left.
_________________
"You have a responsibility to consider all sides of a problem and a responsibility to make a judgment and a responsibility to care for all involved." --Ian Danskin
22 Jan 2015, 2:06 pm
