Strawn transitioned to female at age 18 but has always been housed with men. Strawn, who prefers no pronouns, entered prison 25 years ago on three-strikes burglary charges and has served much of that time at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, another men’s prison. Lisa Strawn is a transgender inmate at San Quentin State Prison. Three of the group’s attendees are transgender women. ![]() ![]() Almost all of the attendees are what are referred to as “lifers,” those convicted of felonies so serious that their sentences range from many years to life in prison. Ages range from 25 years to late middle age, and races and ethnicities vary. The group is as diverse as the world on the outside. The lessons have been designed by LGBTQ prisoners. Inmates Michael Adams and Juan Meza currently lead the group. Their goal is simple: heal together and work toward a better world for LGBTQ people. They talk about everything from what it means that Janelle Monáe came out as pansexual to how to respect intersex people. 'I didn’t know where I fit in'Įach week for a year, LGBTQ and straight inmates meet for two hours in a small yellow classroom. Restorative justice is an alternative to punishment, one in which offenders and victims try to heal together. He posed the question to members of Acting With Compassion & Truth, or ACT, a restorative justice group that meets weekly at San Quentin.
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