Hi, this is Bambi again. I haven’t called y’all in a while to give y’all any updates on anything. In the last several months, I’ve been dealing with a lot of depression and a lot of things because of the administration here at the prison, and just a lot of things that I don’t really know how to explain.
April of 2023, this year, the Indiana Department of Corrections, their new commissioner, Christina Reagle, she generated a statewide policy that is supposed to be for transgender incarcerated individuals. And ever since it went into effect, the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility administration staff, their deliberately ignoring it and showing total disregard of it. There are only three of us girls here at this prison. And I’m one of them that have experienced a lot of sexual harassment by several of the correctional officers here. Just one of the few things, it’s just a few months ago, one of the captains was promoted to major and every single day after that, as a trans woman, I have been stripped searched by male officers coming and going to work, which I work in the prisons kitchen, also known is the MR Food Service. When I spoke to the new major, about this situation, he had told me in his own words was quote, “sorry about your luck, don’t come to prison, you’re still a man in a men’s facility.”
The things that the administration are doing and saying, their behavior towards us transgender in the LGBT community itself is, it’s very wrong. It’s traumatizing. And it’s very hurtful, and it’s a lot of psychological and emotional trauma is being affected by this. And then I have to be humiliated and stand there while these male officers wrung their hands over my body. And every time they do it, it makes me feel like I’m just dirty and ashamed. If I refuse the strip search, there’s been several times where I’ve been threatened with going to lock up with a conduct report and been threatened to be sprayed with OC spray. There was even a female correctional officer working in my dorm that I’m currently in a little over a month ago. And she told me that she is glad that DOC will no longer provide us with gender reassignment surgery to inmates. And her words was quote, “because it’s wrong under God’s eyes and her taxpayers hard earned money shouldn’t be used for that.” Once she told me that, I was just kind of like, shocked, like, oh my god, like, how could you say that to me? Like I’m just as human as you are. And I really just had to walk away from this female officer. It just it really amazed me it just, it just very hurtful things.
I really struggle so hard every day to try to understand why I am hated so much, or why even us as the LGBT are hated so much. About two years ago, sorry, two months ago, I was at work in the kitchen when my supervisor, my Aramark employee, who tried to force his religion on me, when he said, “You’re not a girl, you’re a man. I’m a Christian. And I believe in that my God don’t make so called transgenders. You’re either a man or a woman.” And then he pointed at one of the other Aramark employees that was in the office with us as well, there was probably about four Aramark employees when he said it and had no problem with voicing his religious personal beliefs and forcing them on me and telling me “she’s a girl, you’re not you’re in a men’s facility. And that’s just what I believe in.”
And I just I feel like that there needs to be change. This type of behavior from any and all DOC officials. It shouldn’t be tolerated at all. It’s very hard to cope in here. There’s been many nights where I have cried myself to sleep. I have wanted to do self harm. I have wanted to self medicate. Just a lot of things. I feel like I have been tormented. I have been harassed. The PREA coordinator I have reported several incidences with just the staff members. And they she acts like, you know, it’s not a big deal. And she’d jot down notes and nothing ever comes of it. And it’s something that needs to be changed. And if there is anybody out there that would like to help advocate for me, because my voice alone is not going to change anything at all. There needs to be a lot of change within the prison industrial complex, and I really need the help of somebody as a voice.
If you’re willing to correspond with me, anybody, I can be reached at Roger King 250624. Also known as Bambi King, Wabash Valley Correctional Facility at PO Box 1111 Carlisle, Indiana 47838. Once again if anybody would like to help me fight the good fight, and to challenge the administration, not just for this facility, but within the Indiana Department of Corrections, I would be so grateful. Thank you very much and you all have a good night.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio
