A convicted murderer’s fight for a taxpayer-funded s*x-change operation has escalated to new heights, as Autumn Cordellioné (born Jonathan Richardson) sought another injunction after the previous court order expired on March 6, according to court documents obtained this week.
The ongoing legal battle centers on Indiana’s law barring s*x-change operations for inmates, which took effect in 2023.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has vigorously defended the state’s position, arguing that the Eighth Amendment doesn’t require the state to provide such procedures, especially when medical professionals have raised concerns about the appropriateness of the treatment.
“Convicted murderers don’t get to demand that taxpayers foot the bill for expensive and controversial s*x-change operations,” Rokita told Fox News Digital in a statement that underscores the state’s firm stance.
“It lacks all common sense. We won’t stop defending our state’s ban on using taxpayer funds to provide s*x-change surgeries to prisoners.”
Rokita’s office submitted a comprehensive brief to a court of appeals defending Indiana’s law in January. The attorney general’s team contends that the statute is not “s*x discrimination” under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause because it universally prohibits so-called s*xual reassignment surgeries for all inmates regardless of gender identity.
Fox noted that a spokesperson for the attorney general emphasized that the Eighth Amendment doesn’t require the state “to provide experimental treatments generally, and it certainly doesn’t here, when multiple doctors have said this inmate is a poor candidate for surgery.”
A key point of contention in the case involves psychologist Kelsey Beers’ professional evaluation of Cordellioné’s eligibility for the procedure.
After thorough assessment, Beers determined that Cordellioné was not a suitable candidate for s*x-change surgery, concluding that the inmate’s distress stemmed from antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorder rather than genuine gender dysphoria.
Fox highlighted that in her professional assessment, Beers also noted that Cordellioné “displays an established pattern of attention-seeking behavior,” raising questions about the true motivation behind the surgery request.
Despite these clinical findings from a qualified professional, the court dismissed Beers’ report, questioning her qualifications and ruling that her assessment didn’t warrant reconsidering the court’s previous decision to grant injunctive relief.
“In summary, the court finds that Dr. Beers’ report does not present a significant factual development that would cause it to reconsider its grant of injunctive relief as to Ms. Cordellioné’s Eighth Amendment claim,” the judge wrote in the ruling, per Fox.
The court document references the previous injunction, stating: “In its Order granting the motion for preliminary injunction, the court acknowledged that ‘surgery may take time as it will be provided by a surgeon who is not affiliated with either IDOC or its contracted medical provider. It is therefore the court’s intention… to renew this preliminary injunction every 90 days until the surgery is provided.'”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), representing Cordellioné in this high-profile case, filed the original lawsuit claiming the inmate was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2020 and has since been prescribed female hormones and testosterone blockers, which Cordellioné has “consistently taken since that time.”
Cordellioné has already received various accommodations such as “panties, makeup, and form-fitting clothing” while incarcerated, according to court filings.
The ACLU maintains that gender-affirming surgery is now medically necessary to alleviate Cordellioné’s gender dysphoria and prevent further psychological distress, per Fox.
“She believes that the only remedy for her persistent gender dysphoria, and the serious harm it causes her, is to receive gender-affirming surgery, specifically an orchiectomy and vaginoplasty,” the legal filing states, referring to procedures that would remove the testicles and create female genitalia.
The ACLU describes Cordellioné, who reportedly has identified as a woman since age 6, as “a woman trapped in a man’s body,” a characterization that forms the basis of their argument for the medical necessity of the procedure.
The case has drawn additional scrutiny due to the nature of Cordellioné’s crime. Court records reveal that Cordellioné was convicted in 2001 for strangling to death an 11-month-old daughter of his then-wife while she was at work.
According to Indiana Court of Appeals documents, Cordellioné was described as “calm and unemotional” while discussing the incident during an initial police interview.
