Locked in Prison, Ky Peterson Gets Some Good News | Advocate.com

After nearly five years jailed with women, Ky Peterson is now one step closer to being recognized as the man he is — even while he remains incarcerated in Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville, Ga.

Peterson — the black trans man at the center of a groundbreaking case involving violence, gender identity, and the dysfunctional prison system — recieved his first dose of hormone therapy on February 26, the 25-year-old tells The Advocate.

"This has been a long hard journey, and now I can see the difference between speaking up, rather than staying silent and never getting anything done," Peterson says via email. "But I had great people encouraging me to never give up along the way."

Three days after this report's initial publication, Peterson recieved his first injection of testosterone, or "T," as it's known colloquially. In an email he sent to his girlfriend on Friday after his first shot, Peterson said he was feeling "pretty good so far."

He is among the first transgender inmates to receive transition-related care while incarcerated in Georgia, after the Department of Corrections updated its policy last April following a federal lawsuit filed by black trans woman Ashley Diamond. (Diamond settled her suit for an undisclosed amount earlier this month.)

Locked in Prison, Ky Peterson Gets Some Good News | Advocate.com

WATCH: Trans Woman Ashley Diamond Reaches Settlement with Georgia Department of Corrections | Advocate.com

The black trans woman who was denied medically necessary care and allegedly subjected to repeated sexual assaults while incarcerated with men has reached a settlement in her lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Corrections.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has been representing 37-year-old Ashley Diamond in her federal lawsuit filed in February of last year, announced the historic settlement (for an undisclosed amount) in Diamond's favor today.

“We’re pleased that we were able to favorably resolve this case on behalf of Ashley Diamond and bring international attention to the plight of transgender prisoners,” said Chinyere Ezie, Diamond's attorney, in a statement today. “Our lawsuit and Ashley Diamond’s bravery brought about important changes in Georgia and have put prison officials across the country on notice about the constitutional rights of transgender persons.”

Diamond, a trans woman of color, was denied medically necessary treatment and forced into solitary confinement, and she alleges that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by other prisoners in all-male Georgia state prisons while she was incarcerated for three years for a nonviolent burglary and theft conviction. She was released from Augusta State Medical Prison last August and received judicial approval to pursue her lawsuit alleging anti-trans discrimination just two weeks later.

WATCH: Trans Woman Ashley Diamond Reaches Settlement with Georgia Department of Corrections | Advocate.com

ADDENDUM::Texas Gay Man, 32, Dies in Custody After Being Denied Medication | Advocate.com

Although I was aware of the following prison abuses as single incidents, I never considered that there may be a "problem".   

While the death of Jacobs is one of the most recent high-profile cases of a gay man dying in police custody, numerous transgender inmates have reported prison abuses. Cece McDonald, jailed for killing her racist, transphobic attacker, suffered 19 months in a men's prison. Ky Peterson, a black trans man, was imprisoned for killing his rapist and is serving 20 years in a Georgia prison, including 15 in confinement; he's been unsuccessful in obtaining hormone therapy that his doctors have deemed medically necessary. Also serving time in Georgia is trans woman Ashley Diamond, who claims she's been sexually assaulted several times in men's prisons and also denied hormone therapy. Diamond filed a federal lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Corrections in February, and in April saw the federal Department of Justice validate her claims that denying her medically necessary treatment violated her rights under the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

Texas Gay Man, 32, Dies in Custody After Being Denied Medication | Advocate.com