A transgender Georgia prisoner continued her testimony Monday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Macon.
David Dinielli, the deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center and one of Diamond's lawyers, said they filed a motion for a temporary restraining order in order to seek more protection for Diamond but that motion was denied by Judge Marc Treadwell.
"The court did not issue a temporary restraining order, but we're extremely happy that the court spent a great deal of time and attention looking at the allegations, looking at the facts and trying to figure out whether our client really is safe," Dinielli said. "Our focus remains on Ashley Diamond, who's making certain every day that she remains safe and gets the care that she needs."
Judge Treadwell made clear that he has not made any kind of final ruling or decision in Diamond's lawsuit, he added. The next hearing has not been scheduled.
"We're happy that at least lawyers are indicating that they want to take additional precaution to keep our client safe," Dinielli said. "It remains unclear and to be tested that those precautions will work. The judge made very clear that if anything happens to Ms. Diamond, the Georgia Department of Corrections has an obligation to immediately tell us and to tell the court. All eyes would be on them, and we surely hope Ms. Diamond remains safe."
Ashley Diamond told Judge Marc Treadwell Monday that she "identifies as female."
"It's something I was born into," she said. "I struggled from a very small age to identify as female. It's always something that I always felt. Whenever someone would say I was a boy, I would say I was a girl. I have lived solely ... as a female since 15. Driver's license, clothing, hormones."
Diamond - born with male anatomy - takes hormones to enhance her feminine characteristics.
Her lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Corrections states her hormone therapy ended after being jailed for burglary, theft by receiving and escaping police custody. The GDOC has restarted the treatments for Diamond.
Diamond alleges she's been raped several times, ridiculed and tormented by inmates and staff.
During Monday's testimony, Diamond partially blamed herself for the alleged abuse saying if she wasn't so feminine or didn't sound the way she does, she would be less of a victim. She also told Treadwell she feels less human and said she'd rather die than get raped again.
Diamond added that she is scared to go into protective custody because of several problems like limited visits and no access to telephones. "Protective custody doesn't save you," she said.
Georgia State Patrol officer Calvin Smith took the stand Monday afternoon on behalf of the state.
