A Letter From a Michigan Prison Cell

• Author: Westley Johnson
• Published date: 01 May 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/10439862221096892
• Date: 01 May 2022

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862221096892

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2022, Vol. 38(2) 259 –261

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/10439862221096892

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Essay

A Letter From a Michigan

Prison Cell

Westley Johnson

Hello,

I am a 27 year old black transgender female who is currently incarcerated in the

Michigan Department of Corrections.

I had no clue that me being sentenced to prison would mean that I would also be

sentenced to years of harassment, discrimination, abuse, violence, torture and rape.

I had no clue that prison staff would willfully maliciously and with deliberate indif-

ference force me to be roommates with rapists and murderers.

I had no clue that my legitimate pleas for help directed to prison staff in which I

pleaded with them to protect me from sexual violence would only result in me being

mocked, laughed at and ultimately ignored.

I reflect back on the time where a prison employee who considered me to be “sexy”

decided to use his position of power and authority to his own personal & predatory

benefit. He made it his daily goal to make unwanted sexual advances towards me. The

sexual harassment he subjected me to on a daily basis quickly escalated to the point

where he decided to rape me.

I reflect back on how I was forced to be roommates with a high profile rapist and

murderer. The fact that I had an official medical document which stated that I was only

to be housed with other gender dysphoric (transgender) prisoners, was ignored. The

fact that I pleaded for protection from being preyed upon by a convicted rapist & mur-

derer was ignored.

The fact that I was raped while two prison employees watched a movie and a third

prison employee was half asleep hurts my heart. The hurt continues as I reflect on how

I was shackled like a slave while I was at a hospital where a rape kit was conducted on

me due to the fact that prison employees failed to protect me from being forcibly pen-

etrated just hours prior. Prison employees could have easily prevented me from being

raped but instead they threatened to punish me if I did not remain in the cell with a well

known rapist & murderer.

I reflect back on how many times I have been unable to sleep because the fear of

being subjected to physical and sexual violence is so real that it is impossible for me

to close my eyes, but after so many sleepless nights it becomes impossible for me to

keep my eyes open because my body has shut down due to sleep deprivation. It hurts

1096892CCJXXX10.1177/10439862221096892Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeJohnson

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