A transgender criminal is now rolling in cash after being gifted a huge windfall from American taxpayers because he was “misgendered” by jail staff while behind bars.
Makyyla Holland, a 25-year-old biological male who claims to be a transgender “woman,” hit the jackpot when New York paid him a $160,000 settlement.
Holland claims he was “misgendered” by staff at an all-male jail and ordered to remove his acrylic nails without the “correct equipment.”
The criminal accused correctional officers at the Broome County Jail of abuse and discrimination.
Holland was jailed after being arrested on criminal contempt and assault charges.
He was held in an all-male jail during two stints totaling six weeks in 2021.
Holland claims he was physically attacked during the intake process on January 22, suffering a broken tooth and a painful lump on his head.
Holland says he was assigned to the men’s unit and put into an isolated cell with glass walls.
He was denied access to a shower throughout his time which ended February 5, 2021, according to court documents.
Between June 1 and July 2, 2021, Holland says he was stripped and searched by male officers.
He was also outraged that officers made him peel off his acrylic nails without the proper tools and ordered him to remove his wig, which was glued to his head.
Despite disclosing his transgender status multiple times, he says he was placed within men’s housing units and “misgendered” – referred to as a man.
The violent criminal complains that he was allegedly denied hormone replacement therapy medications for four weeks and wasn’t given his prescribed testosterone blockers or antidepressants.
“I was harassed, mocked, misgendered, and worse: jail staff strip-searched me, beat me up, placed me in the male section of the jail, and withheld my hormones for a period of time, forcing me to go into agonizing withdrawal,” said Holland via the New York Civil Liberties Union.
“I just felt I was a laughing stock there I was being discriminated because of me being a trans woman.
“That put me at a high risk of harassment.
“I had to adapt to what the jail put me through.”
He complains that the jail staff made him feel like his life didn’t matter when they failed to comply with his demands.
Holland filed a lawsuit in 2021, claiming he was “routinely harassed and misgendered.”
He claims that pleas “for help and for protection from the threats and sexual victimization to which they had exposed” him were ignored.
However, Holland is now dispelling the myth that crime doesn’t pay.
Following the landmark settlement, which included a payment of $160,000 as well as new transgender guidelines for the facility, Holland said he hopes change will come from his experience.
As a result of the settlement, transgenders in Broome County Jail will now be able to receive taxpayer-funded trans “health care.”
They will now also be housed consistent with their “gender identity” to avoid “harassment and discrimination.”
Clothing and toiletry items will be consistent with their “gender identity.”
The correctional facility will also be forced to offer transgender crooks “gender-affirming” items such as wigs.
“No one should ever have to go through what I went through at the Broome County Jail and I am so grateful that with this new policy, hopefully, no one else ever will,” Holland said.
“This policy and policies like it can impact a lot of my community and I will continue to fight to ensure that no other trans person in New York or anywhere has to endure what I did.”
Holland said he would like to see the guidelines picked up in states around the country so he can rest assured no one has a similar experience.
“With this policy, I want my trans siblings to know that we have rights.
“You should feel safe in any housing situation you are in.
“No one should take your medication.
“You should be able to live out to your truth and stay true to who you are.
“If I had a world, I would just want everybody on my world to just know that they mean something.”
Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar said he is “pleased” to introduce new expectations for the treatment of transgender.
“I’m pleased we were able to amicably reach a resolution that establishes clear LGBTI Guidelines, which were previously nonexistent, to address the rights of LGBTI inmates while maintaining the safety and security of individuals both housed and working at the Broome County Correctional Facility,” he said.
“It’s another important step forward in pragmatically and safely modernizing policies to meet the needs of those we serve and protect as we work to build a better, safer community for everyone in Broome County.”
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