Roe v. Precythe

After experiencing sexual assault and as a punishment for being HIV positive while in a Missouri prison, Jane Roe was placed in solitary confinement for over six years with no way to challenge her confinement, engendering multiple attempts to take her own life. The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting back against the torturous usage of solitary confinement for prolonged periods, particularly when it’s justified by discriminatory, unconstitutional policies that unfairly penalize people like Ms. Roe. 

Ms. Roe is a formerly incarcerated Black trans woman who was brutally sexually assaulted by her cellmate while under the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections (MODOC). After she was assaulted, prison records state that she was placed in administrative segregation – or solitary confinement – because of her involvement in a “Prison Rape Elimination Act event,” referring to her sexual assault. 

Not only did prison officials arbitrarily punish her for a sexual assault she experienced, weaponizing her HIV status, but they failed to conduct individualized assessments of Ms. Roe and failed to consider that her HIV was virally suppressed, rendering her incapable of transmission.  

Solitary confinement for six years pushed Ms. Roe beyond the brink of what she could bear, both physically and mentally. She was kept in an often-freezing cold cell the size of a compact parking space and forced to sleep on top of a mattress so thin, she could feel the metal wiring underneath on her back. She was sleep deprived; exposed to chemical agents, such as pepper spray, and the sounds of near constant yelling and beating; suffered from rashes and scabies; and was deprived of gender-affirming care for several years.

Ms. Roe also suffered from anxiety, depression, insomnia, and suicidal ideation. In fact, Ms. Roe attempted suicide twice while in solitary confinement. Her experience is not unusual for people in solitary confinement – in fact, the severe physical and psychological harms associated with solitary confinement are well-researched and documented. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture has determined that solitary confinement lasting beyond 15 days constitutes torture or cruel, inhumane, and or degrading treatment in violation of international human rights law.

And yet, prison officials were deliberately indifferent to Ms. Roe’s evident mental health decline. 

The MacArthur Justice Center joins Lambda Legal and Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP to hold the MODOC for its discriminatory policy that singles out people with HIV, such as Ms. Roe, and violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the American with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.