One of history’s most-cited legal cases began with 21-year-old Dee Farmer, a Black trans woman trapped in a men’s prison. Because of her age and gender presentation, Farmer was in solitary, targeted with infractions for ordering hair relaxer and jewelry, and wearing her uniform off-the-shoulder. She found refuge in the law library, filing lawsuits for herself and her incarcerated neighbors.
Officials retaliated by transferring her to a maximum security prison. Within days, Farmer was raped. She wrote to her local district court that prison officials were liable because they knew she’d be a target for sexual assault and housed her in general population anyway. That court wasn’t receptive, so she appealed to the 7th Circuit. Then, she appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. That time, it stuck.
In 1994, SCOTUS directly addressed rape in prisons for the first time. The heart of the case was “deliberate indifference.” SCOTUS decided that it’s evidence that prison officials knew of health and safety risk factors if “the risk was obvious."
Unfortunately, Farmer lost her personal lawsuit for her rape in 1997, the jury not believing her. She was released in 2020. Still, her SCOTUS case laid the groundwork for 2003’s Prison Rape Elimination Act. She’s why any incarcerated person can sue the government and claim prison officers violated the Constitution with their deliberate indifference.
Today, 60-year-old Farmer continues sharing legal guidance with incarcerated people. But her influence extends far beyond the law. The prison system punished her for her “audacity,” but Farmer insisted on stepping into her power. How can we follow her lead?