Formerly incarcerated Kalani Gagne tells Senate committee of abuse, urges stricter vetting under H.550
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Summary
At an April 7 Senate Committee on Institutions hearing on H.550, witness Kalani Gagne recounted transfers to out-of-state prisons, alleged staff harassment and uninvestigated PREA complaints, and urged clearer clinical vetting and mandated reporting to protect transgender and cisgender people in custody.
Kalani Gagne, a formerly incarcerated Vermont resident, testified to the Senate Committee on Institutions on April 7 that she endured repeated harassment, assaults and misgendering while held in several out‑of‑state prisons and at regional facilities, and urged lawmakers to strengthen H.550 to require expert clinical vetting and clearer reporting procedures.
Gagne recounted being shipped out of state after conviction — to Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Mississippi — and said Vermont’s policies did not govern care or investigations once she was compacted to other states. "Vermont Department of Corrections knew this," she told the committee, arguing that PREA complaints and other reports of assault were not consistently investigated by DOC or by outside jurisdictions.
Why it matters: H.550 is framed as an update to the state’s approach to gender equity in correctional facilities. Gagne told lawmakers that the bill should define who is qualified to evaluate gender dysphoria and placement safety and should tighten mandated‑reporting and investigative procedures so allegations of sexual assault and harassment are followed up across jurisdictions.
Gagne described multiple incidents she said illustrated gaps in accountability. She said correctional staff in Mississippi and at regional Vermont facilities misgendered her repeatedly, at times used hostile language and failed to move or discipline inmates she reported as predatory. "I was told I was an abomination to God, that Satan is my father, that I deserve to die," Gagne said, and later recounted a staff member telling her, "I hate white people in your kind." She told the committee she filed grievances, sent faxes, and reached out to prisoner‑rights advocates, but that responses from Vermont DOC were limited.
On clinical vetting and placement, Gagne recommended creating a review process that includes mental‑health professionals with experience diagnosing and treating gender dysphoria, women's‑advocacy representatives and LGBT community members alongside DOC staff. She warned against vague bill language that would allow a broadly "licensed professional" (for example, an unrelated clinician without specific expertise) to make placement or treatment decisions.
Committee chair Wendy Harrison thanked Gagne and said the committee is refining policy language. "That's our job is to make sure that people are safe," Harrison said, adding that the committee is working on the relevant policy changes and that the bill sponsor has sought stakeholder input.
The session included questions about other states' approaches and voluntary transgender housing units. No formal vote on H.550 occurred during the hearing; the committee did not adopt a motion or make a final decision at this meeting. Gagne provided a release date in her testimony (July 13, 2024) and offered to stay in contact with staff and lawmakers for follow‑up.
Next step: Committee members said they will continue to refine bill language and consult clinicians and advocacy groups as H.550 proceeds through the legislative process.
