A transgender woman has been found dead in an all-male prison in Leeds.
The 21-year old was found unresponsive in her cell in Leeds Prison in Armley, West Yorkshire, with friends claiming she had asked to be sent to a female prison.
The young woman was handed a 12-month jail term in August which was suspended for 24 months, but was remanded in custody after breaching the terms of the sentence.
According to the BBC, Thompson’s lawyer Mohammad Hussain had been petitioning for his client to be moved, citing she was a vulnerable transgender woman who had not undergone gender reassignment surgery.
Hussain claims he advised the judge she was “essentially a woman” and asked for her to be transferred to a nearby women’s facility.
Thompson’s boyfriend, Robert Steele, told media he had spoken with his girlfriend the day before, and had booked a visit to the prison before her death.
He added:
“She didn’t like it in there because people were saying things to her because she was dressing as a female.”
Confirming the news this morning, the Prison Service said:
“HMP Leeds prisoner Vicky Thompson was found unresponsive on the evening of Friday 13 November.
“Staff and paramedics attempted resuscitation but she was pronounced dead at 8.48pm.”
An investigation into Thompson’s death has been launched by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
The news comes just weeks after a trans woman was moved into an all-female prison following an online petition that gained thousands of signatures.
26-year-old Tara Hudson was sentenced to 12 weeks in violent all-male Bristol prison for a bar assault. Despite having lived as a woman for the past six years, Tara was placed in the men’s prison, as her legal gender has not yet been altered.
However action was taken following a change.org petition that attracted over 55,000 signatures.
