Judge Apologizes To Inmate Seeking Sex-Change
BOSTON (AP) -- A federal judge has apologized to a transgender inmate who has waited years for a ruling in a lawsuit seeking to order Massachusetts prison officials to provide a taxpayer-funded sex-change operation.
Michelle Kosilek first sued 11 years ago. Two years later, U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf ruled that Kosilek was entitled to treatment for gender-identity disorder, but stopped short of ordering surgery. Kosilek sued again in 2005, arguing that the surgery is a medical necessity.
During a hearing Thursday, Wolf said he deeply regrets that his decision has not yet been issued. He said he knows the case is "extremely important" to both Kosilek and prison officials who oppose the surgery.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports.
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Kosilek, born as Robert, was convicted of killing his wife in 1990. Kosilek has received hormone treatments and lives as a woman in an all-male prison.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
