Transgender woman Meagan Taylor is in solitary confinement because jail officials can't decide whether to place her with male or female prisoners. She was arrested and charged after a hotel staff member called the police, falsely thinking Taylor and another transgender friend were prostitutes.
Police responded to the call and found no evidence of prostitution. They still searched Taylor and found an unmarked bottle of pills in her purse. Taylor says those were hormone pills. Police charged her with possession of prescription drugs without a prescription, giving a false name, and "malicious prosecution" (no explanation was given for the third charge).
Now Taylor is sitting in solitary confinement because she is transgender. She may remain there for months, as her next court date is not until August 25th. She lives out of state, and doesn't know anyone local to help bail her out.
Forcing someone to stay in solitary confinement for non-violent, victimless alleged crimes is cruel and unusual punishment. Taylor should never have been searched and arrested, and the only reason she is in jail is because of someone's bias. Please sign the petition to urge the Polk County Sheriff to free Meagan!
We, the undersigned, are concerned that transgender woman Meagan Taylor is in solitary confinement because jail officials can't decide whether to place her with male or female prisoners. We understand that she was arrested and charged after a hotel staff member called the police, falsely thinking Taylor and another transgender friend were prostitutes.
Police responded to the call and found no evidence of prostitution. They still searched Taylor and found an unmarked bottle of pills in her purse. Taylor says those were hormone pills. Police charged her with possession of prescription drugs without a prescription, giving a false name, and "malicious prosecution" (no explanation was given for the third charge).
Now Taylor is sitting in solitary confinement because she is transgender. She may remain there for months, as her next court date is not until August 25th. She lives out of state, and doesn't know anyone local to help bail her out.
We believe that forcing someone to stay in solitary confinement for non-violent, victimless alleged crimes is cruel and unusual punishment. Taylor should never have been searched and arrested, and the only reason she is in jail is because of someone's bias. We respectfully urge you to free Meagan!
