Transgender inmate at Kansas women's prison didn't convince judge of discrimination claim

A transgender inmate at the Kansas women's prison in Topeka has so far failed to convince a federal judge she is being discriminated against.

Michelle Renee Lamb in November sued Gov. Laura Kelly plus the warden and other staff of Topeka Correctional Facility and the Kansas Department of Corrections, primarily seeking to be transferred to general population.

The court already dismissed some of Lamb's claims in January, and it appears that U.S. District Judge John Lungstrum will dismiss the rest — unless Lamb can convince him not to with a response to his show cause order, due May 3.

"Plaintiff has failed to show that she was discriminated against based on her transgender status," Lungstrum wrote. "Plaintiff should show good cause why her discrimination claim should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim."

He likewise said Lamb hasn't shown her housing status has subjected her to atypical or significant hardship compared to ordinary prison life, which could be a due process violation. He also said Lamb hasn't shown that managing her as a sex offender is an ex post facto violation.

Transgender inmate wants to be housed in general population

Lamb alleges she is being discriminated against by the prison system because she is being held in restricted housing instead of general population.

Part of the reason Lamb isn't in general population is because she is being managed as a sex offender, even though her convictions weren't sex crimes.

The state is allowed to manage inmates as sex offenders based on their conduct in prison, and Lamb has a disciplinary report for violating the lewd act rule by giving another inmate "a hug that continues through another squeeze — appearing to be a 'double hug.'"

Lamb alleged that disciplinary report was targeted discrimination. But a KDOC report said Lamb pleaded guilty to that violation and cited several other examples of Lamb ignoring no-contact orders. Lamb has been managed as a sex offender since 2002, and that status didn't change with her gender change.

The KDOC report said the former warden expected to house Lamb in general population. But that changed after she refused to answer questions about her crimes for the intake evaluation that is used to establish an inmate's psychological health.

Prison officials said the refusal to answer questions was "worrying" because her "most serious crimes are violent actions specifically against women, and because this would be the first time in 50 years that Plaintiff would be cohabitating with women, Plaintiff's refusal to answer was a red flag."

The report added that Lamb's security risk classification was also due to the nature of her crimes and the potential risk to other inmates. She was then placed in restrictive housing to provide individualized planning with a goal to eventually integrate into general population.

The prison report said Lamb has been allowed multiple exceptions to restrictive housing rules, including permission to buy makeup and earrings.

But the prison hasn't ended Lamb' security risk status because her behavior is "predatory towards another resident and manipulative towards security staff."

They cited examples, including when she asked a corrections officer if her genitals "looked good and natural" after the surgery, and when she asked a different officer about her anatomy and sexual habits. Such behavior led to an order from a supervisor that Lamb must always be escorted by two female officers.

More: Inmate seeking gender-affirming surgery moved to women's prison in Topeka

Transgender prison inmate received gender-affirming care at KU

Lamb, 82, was moved in January 2023 to the Topeka prison, the state's only women's prison. She was formerly known as Thomas lamb and was previously an inmate at El Dorado Correctional Facility, a men's prison.

Her convictions include first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated kidnapping in Johnson County in 1970, with at least one of the kidnappings allegedly being part of a scheme to get ransom money to pay for gender-affirming surgery.

When The Topeka Capital-Journal reported on Lamb's move to the women's prison last year, it was unclear if she had received gender-affirming surgery after years of seeking it. At the time, a prison spokesperson declined to discuss it due to patient privacy concerns but said any health care decisions would have been made by the contracted provider, Centurion.

Court documents now confirm that Lamb received gender-affirming surgery at the University of Kanas Health System on Jan. 25, 2023, two days before her transfer to TCF's infirmary.

Lamb was moved to TCF prior to the Legislature enacting Senate Bill 180 last session over Kelly's veto. The law strictly defines males and females based on reproductive anatomy at birth, which means receiving gender-affirming care or presenting as another gender does not change whether the state legally considers someone as male or female.

In a June 2023 opinion, Attorney General Kris Kobach said state law "requires that the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) house only biological females in the specified portion of the Topeka Correctional Facility." But he added that agency policy or practices on housing inmates by sex aren't subject to the law as long as the policy or practice is not a rule or regulation.

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Transgender inmate at Kansas women's prison alleges discrimination