All things considered, Ella Mae Vail said her stay at the Weber County jail was probably the best interaction she’s had with law enforcement. Most of the correctional officers used her preferred name and pronouns and seemed to care about her well-being.
But for all the good, there was some bad.
Like how Vail, a transgender woman, was so scared of being housed among men in the general jail population that she hurt herself to be placed in a mental health ward.
Or how before she was assigned to the mental health ward, male inmates would come to the window of her cell and say obscene things to her or catcall, she said. Or how the men housed in the mental health ward had a line of sight into the communal shower and watched her.
The jailers "did their best, but there were really some failings,” Vail said.
To read the full article written by Paighten Harkins HERE
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