Free Republic

A federal appeals court has ruled today that transsexual wife-killer Michelle Kosilek's push for a sex-change operation has been denied. "The district court erred and that the care provided to Kosilek by the DOC does not violate the Eighth Amendment. We therefore reverse the district court's grant of injunctive relief, and we remand with instructions to dismiss the case," the court ruled. A federal judge ruled in 2012 that Kosilek, 65, needed the surgery for gender identity disorder, but state prison officials challenged the ruling. Kosilek, who was born Robert Kosilek, is serving life in an all-male prison for killing...

Convicted wife-killer Michelle Kosilek will have to wait a bit longer to learn if his taxpayer-funded sex-change surgery can commence. The controversial procedure has been postponed, a federal judge ruled today, until the state’s appeal of the operation is decided. The Patrick administration appealed the surgery to the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. U.S. District Court Judge Mark Wolf told Department of Correction lawyers today he is putting the brakes on the entire matter because once the surgery is over, there’s no going back if the appeals court rules in favor of the state. Kosilek, formerly known...

Howie thread for the week starting with his Sunday Boston Herald column

A federal judge has apologized to a transgender inmate who has waited years for a ruling on whether she can get a taxpayer-funded sex-change operation. Michelle Kosilek first sued 11 years ago. Two years later, U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf ruled that Kosilek was entitled to treatment for gender-identity disorder, but stopped short of ordering surgery. Kosilek sued again in 2005, arguing that the surgery is a medical necessity. Prison officials oppose the idea. During a hearing Thursday, Wolf said he deeply regrets that his decision has not yet been issued. He says he knows the case is "extremely important"...

A transsexual convicted killer suing the Department of Correction to have taxpayers pay for a new round of electrolysis and a sex-change operation doesn’t have any hair issues that couldn’t be resolved by more razor work and heavier makeup, the chairman of the prison system’s Gender Identity Disorder Treatment Committee claims in a newly filed court document. “I believe that her opinion that if she didn’t shave for a week she’d have a full beard (like mine as she indicated) is a serious distortion. It is my opinion that a reasonable accommodation to address this inmate’s concern would be to...

A convicted killer who has been waiting years for a judge in Boston to rule on a request for a sex-change operation is now asking to be allowed electrolysis treatments. Michelle Kosilek was born as Robert and has been living as a woman in an all-male prison in Norfolk after being sentenced to life for the murder of his wife, Cheryl, in 1990.

Con: Fund my sex changehttp://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=141529 http://tinyurl.com/qmn9u By Dave Wedge Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - Updated: 07:35 AM EST Not satisfied with his taxpayer-funded female hormones and laser hair removal, a convicted killer-turned-transsexual is again asking the state to pony up to complete his transformation into a woman. Robert Kosilek, who is serving life in prison for strangling his wife, was back in federal court yesterday, again demanding that the state Department of Correction pay for his sex-change operation. A similar bid was denied in 2002, and his latest attempt has infuriated Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey. “I strongly oppose using taxpayer...