Formerly incarcerated witness tells Corrections committee out-of-state placements and abuse shape gender-equity concerns in prisons

A formerly incarcerated Burlington resident, who identified herself to the committee as Kalani Bragonye, told the House Corrections & Institutions Committee that her transfers to several out-of-state prisons and the treatment she received there shaped her view of proposed gender-equity rules in House Bill 550.

Kalani described a 25-to-40-year sentence and transfers under Vermont's out-of-state contracts and interstate compacts to facilities in Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Mississippi. She said Pennsylvania used an evaluation committee of mental-health professionals and granted her hormone-replacement therapy; in Mississippi, she said, she faced hostility from staff and repeated physical assaults by other inmates.

"I could no longer live in that body," she said of the period when she contemplated suicide before identifying publicly and seeking treatment. She told the committee that male staff once entered her cell and ordered a strip search, and that other staff members used derogatory language and refused to follow protocols she expected would protect her. She said Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) did not effectively compel the out-of-state facility to act and that some of her grievances went unanswered until a federal PREA review later recognized an incident as reportable.

Kalani urged the committee to require that determinations about housing and treatment involve licensed mental-health professionals with transgender-care expertise, citing clinical guidance such as the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) as a model. She recommended enhanced screening for people with histories of violent or sexual offenses, a 0-tolerance approach to predatory behavior, oversight that includes corrections leadership and advocates, and more in-service training for staff.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about when she identified publicly, how treatment pathways (including surgery) are typically handled in the community and how Vermont's facilities compared with out-of-state placements. Kalani said she began formal treatment while placed in Pennsylvania and that Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility's DIVAS program later helped initiate an investigation into prior abuse.

Several committee members thanked her for a detailed personal account. Chair Emmons said the testimony would help the committee refine legislative language and that members and staff would follow up with DOC and the witness as HB 550 moves forward.

The committee paused for a brief break and said a second witness on related issues was available by Zoom.