Michelle- Lael Norsworthy was charged with second degree murder in 1987, and denied parole each time it was requested since then. So what changed the mind of the judges following Norsworthy long fight for reassignment surgery? Many believe the connection isn’t a coincidence. Reassignment surgery can go to about $20,000, with this being said the facility that Michelle- Lael Norsworthy was held at saved a lot more money “letting her go”, then they would have getting the surgery done for her. The debate comes up whether it was a coincidence that after around 5 times of requesting parole and getting denied, to then getting granted parole, has to do with the facility not wanting to spend the money on a transgenders needs. The past few years more cases have been in the headlines about transgenders and their needs while serving time in prison. But many of the cases end up just like Michelle’s, with the officials choosing other outcomes other than accommodating the needs of the individual. The article talks about two other inmates who had similar cases that were let off on parole as well, when most of the time this was seen as the “easy” way out for the officials but was said not to be unusual. As more and more headlines appear about this issue of facilities denying rights to transgender needs, courts are recognizing that the correction agencies can’t just deny the right because “they just don’t want too”. Even though the officials of Norsworthy case say they took her “into consideration just like they do the other 4,000 inmates that are eligible for parole” many who looked into this case were often skeptical. This brought up a lot of controversy that could indicate that there is a slight chance that the defendant influenced the parole process. Similar to incarcerated recovering addicts and pregnant women, transgender people have needs as well, and for facilities to grant parole over helping these individuals raises a major concern about out countries current prison system.
Brooke's Blog 
I think the transgender population in prison systems are one of the most sad cases. It really exposes how corrupt the prison system is, and America in general. America is so run on capitalism that human needs are often put on the back burner, especially for individuals who don’t conform to the norms of society. I liked that you pointed out the fact that prisons are most likely just focused on money, and not on the person because its obviously true. If it wasn’t they would have given her parole earlier.
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