Christina Lusk will be the first transferred under the DOC's new Transgender Policy. (Gender Justice)A transgender woman who sued the Minnesota Department of Corrections for her treatment while in prison has reached a settlement in which the DOC has agreed to transfer her to a woman’s prison and pay her $495,000.Christina Lusk will transfer to the women’s facility in Shakopee next week, marking the first time a transgender person has moved to a facility matching their gender identity in Minnesota.
When Lusk was arrested in 2018 on drug charges, she was in the process of scheduling her transition surgery, according to Gender Justice, the legal nonprofit that represented her.
Then, after she was incarcerated, Lusk asked the DOC to let her continue with the surgery, and provided the agency with her medical records, but was denied.
Jess Braverman, legal director at Gender Justice, says Lusk was harassed by inmates and DOC guards, which took a toll on her mental health."Inmates would would heckle her, heckle her roommates… call her ‘it,’ that sort of thing.