Transgender rapist Isla Bryson to serve sentence in male prison
A transgender woman, who raped two women before she changed gender, will not serve her sentence in a female jail, according to Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon.
According to BBC News, Isla Bryson was remanded to Cornton Vale Women’s Prison after being convicted of carrying out the rapes when she was a man called Adam Graham.
Bryson decided to transition from a man to a woman while awaiting trial.
Nicola Sturgeon has now said Bryson will not be incarcerated at Cornton Vale.
Bryson is due to be sentenced next month – but where that sentence should be served has been the subject of heated debate.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament, Sturgeon quoted the chief executive of Rape Crisis as saying she did not see how it was possible to have a rapist within a women’s prison.
“I agree with that statement and I think in general that statement is correct,” she added
The first minister said any prisoner, who poses a risk of sexual offending, is segregated from other prisoners while a risk assessment is carried out.
“There is no automatic right for a trans woman convicted of a crime to serve their sentence in a female prison even if they have a gender recognition certificate,” she said
“Every case is subject to rigorous individual risk assessment and the safety of other prisoners is paramount,” she continued.