SF jail criticized for treatment of transgender prisoner
An attorney for a transgender woman accused of murder sharply criticized her treatment at the hands of San Francisco’s Sheriff’s Department at a hearing today.
Leion Butler, described as a transgender woman, and presenting in court as a woman, is reportedly being held in an all-male unit of San Francisco County Jail (“in a pod with 20-25 men”).
“Ms Butler is being held in San Francisco County Jail and I understand she is on a safe-keeping hold from the Marshals Service,” Deputy Federal Public Defender David Rizk told the court with respect to his client’s housing conditions.
“I thought that was because of her gender – she’s transgender – and they have a transgender unit at San Francisco jail. But she’s currently being held at an all-male unit and I don’t think that’s appropriate at all. There’s no privacy, every cell has a glass door…there’s a whole variety of reasons why that’s inappropriate. I’m concerned about the situation.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse directed the U.S. Marshals Service to respond promptly to the concerns expressed by the defense with respect to housing.
Rizk asked for a detention hearing to be scheduled which was duly set for December 14 at 10:30am. He told the judge that he would ask to come back sooner if Butler’s jail housing situation was not satisfactorily addressed.
Defendants in custody on federal charges are typically held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin under a contract the U.S. Marshals Service has with Alameda County.
Inquiries at the jail show Butler was booked on November 21 2023 under the booking number #23671480. The fact of Butler’s detention is not available to the public via the Sheriff’s “Find a person in jail” portal despite assurances that “[t]hey’re not in our custody if you can’t identify them through our lookup tool.“
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