Back in 1984 Calvin Burdine was convicted in the stabbing death of his gay lover, who had been trying to pimp him out. The prosecuting attorney asked the jury to award Burdine the death penalty rather than life in prison, claiming that sending a gay man to prison was like sending a kid to a candy store.
The jury agreed in only 17 minutes. The judge also thought it sounded reasonable.
Fortunately, Calvin got a new trial since his public defender slept through the first one.
How ugly is that?
The reality that GLBT people experience in prison is far removed from the myth. A young man named Rodney tells it like it is here.
I’ve heard before that ‘jail is a faggot’s dream.’ I assure you that cliché is not the case. Gay men who do not attempt to hide their sexuality are forced into passive and submissive roles. To live with some standard of equality, we have to trade in our manhood. We are completely emasculated. It’s a form of technical castration. The role of woman is forced upon us and any rebuttal is considered a sign of disrespect. My way of thinking about myself and my sexuality has been permanently altered.
–Rodney
And if that is how gay men are treated in prison, can you imagine the life of a transwoman sent to a men’s prison?