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April 21, 2010 6:25 AM

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Transgender Killer Tells Massachusetts Taxpayers to Put Mammogram on Her Tab

By: Caroline Black
Topics: Daily Blotter

Robert Kosilek, left, Michelle Kosilek, right (CBS/AP)

BOSTON (CBS/AP) - The transgender inmate formerly known as Robert Kosilek has made yet another unconventional request from behind bars...for a mammogram.

Massachusetts corrections officials, already under fire for the transgender inmate's taxpayer-funded hormone treatments, now face criticism for providing Kosilek, who now calls herself Michelle, with a mammogram, MyFoxBoston.com reports.

Among the outraged is Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson who told MyFoxBoston.com: "This is a killer who wants to be a girl, a man who murdered his wife, who has access to better health care than citizens who are paying for his incarceration."

The Massachusetts' Department of Corrections has sided with the complicated convict on this medical matter and released a statement to MyFoxBoston.com, saying: "The DOC's responsibility is care and custody of inmates, including health care. Clinical indications for mammograms are not gender specific. If a mammogram is recommended by a physician for a male inmate, one would be provided where medically appropriate, as determined by the DOC's medical service provider."

Ultimately, Kosilek wants the taxpayers of Massachusetts to pay for sex reassignment surgery, but in the meantime she has requested and received hormone treatments, and has renewed a request for further electrolysis to get rid of his stubble.

Apparently, Kosilek has forgotten that she is serving a life sentence for murder and is not on an all-inclusive vacation at Club Med.

Michelle Kosilek (AP Photo)

Kosilek has been living as Michelle in an all-male prison in Norfolk, Mass. since being sentenced to life for murdering his wife Cheryl in 1990.

In 1993, Kosilek had a revelation and decided it was time to start living his life as a woman. Ever since then, she has been fighting with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections to pay for a sex change on the grounds that to continue life as a man would be cruel and unusual punishment, says USA Today.

Kosilek has testified that if she does undergo the sex reassignment surgery she sees no reason to continue living.

Prison officials are concerned that if Kosilek is granted the sex change, she will become irresistible to the other male inmates.

But it's likely no amount of surgery could make this dude look like a lady.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER

November 23, 2009 - Cross-Dressing Killer Robert Kosilek Wants You To Pay For Hair-Removal Treatments Behind Bars
August 1, 2008 - Tax Dollars At Work: Will State Pay for Wife-Killer's Sex Change?
August 10, 2008 - Pretty in Prison: Cross-Dressing Wife-Killer Wants Smooth Legs

15 Comments +

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by manicsquirrel_ April 22, 2010 12:18 PM EDT: Your incessant switching back and forth between male and female pronouns is dizzying to say the least. As the author, please pick one and stick with it throughout your article.; Reply to this comment


by Hazumu_Osaragi April 21, 2010 1:38 PM EDT: Ms. Caroline Black;

Did you write that headline? The one that tried and convicted Michelle Kosilek of stealing basic health services from the people of the commonwealth of Massachusetts? Well done! But if you're going to deny the object of your piece necessary medical screening, you ought to deny it to ALL convicts who happen to have breasts. This includes males who have no intention of behaving as women, yet have gynecomastia, otherwise known as 'male boobs' or 'moobs'. They are just as subject to breast cancer, and regular screenings are necessary. But we should also deny mammograms to all the born-females incarcerated. It's up to them to not get breast cancer in the first place. Think of the money that can be saved by denying ALL mammograms to undeserving criminals. They shouldn't have ended up in jail in the first place.; Reply to this comment


by Positively April 21, 2010 1:23 PM EDT: How many would love to give this murderer a routine fix to his problem. Snip here, snip there.; Reply to this comment


by KatLen2010 April 21, 2010 12:54 PM EDT: Are you people kidding me?? This ugly SOB deserves to the death penalty, NOT a sex change! It's probably already somebodys ***** in prison, so why change anything at the cost of the tax payers. Besides the writer pretty much summed it up with "But it's likely no amount of surgery could make this dude look like a lady." LMAO; Reply to this comment


by bundye April 21, 2010 11:30 AM EDT: Money wasted. A request of that nature, from a prisoner, should not be allowed.; Reply to this comment

by vgavre April 21, 2010 11:04 AM EDT

Are you people serious? Okay, I am a greedy person when it comes to my paycheck that I have earned by doing my time at my job. I want to say where it is going like to pay my bills, support my family. I do not want my money to be used to give prisoners a comfortable live. If they wanted a comfortable life they should not have committed the crimes they are sitting in prison for. Get off this "oh let's be understanding" crap. I do not care that you want to think you are a woman, I do not care you want cable tv, I do not care you want an education. You had a chance at all of that before you committed your crime. Stop giving into criminals and make them accountable by making prison a hellhole you do not want to be in; instead of making it a freaking Club Med.

Reply to this comment


by bubbajill April 21, 2010 4:05 PM EDT: Well said!!!!


by MilitaryRetiree April 21, 2010 10:11 AM EDT: Looks like he/she/it has learned to manipulate the system. One of our Florida inmates sued the Department of Corrections for him to continue with his hormonal treatments as he was was undergoing transgender treatments when he was arrested. He wanted to become a "female" at the states expense.; Reply to this comment


by dontknowitall April 21, 2010 9:17 AM EDT: Proof positive of the value of a death penalty.; Reply to this comment

by larrryshrine April 21, 2010 8:24 AM EDT

The writer of this article has no concept of transsexulism. It is classified as a disorder, but it is much more than that. There is not room here to educate the masses, but be assured that being a transsexual, and going through the process of changing genders, is extremely difficult and painful. The fact that this woman - and yes, we are to refer to such a person as they wish to be referred to - is a murderer is not relevant. Of course she should be behind bars and punished to the full extent of the law. Unfortunately, transsexuals are discriminated against in much the same way gays were thirty years ago. It is a matter of ignorance. So please, educate yourselves.

Reply to this comment


by Positively April 21, 2010 1:16 PM EDT: YOU CAN REFER TO IT AS A WOMAN, I WILL ADDRESS "IT" AS A MURDERER THAT IS INFATUATED WITH THINKING ANY ONE LIKES "IT". Yes I am angery at freaking criminals continuing spotlighting themselves as if they are ANYTHING TO SOCIETY. WELL THEY ARE, FREAKS THAT DESERVE THE DEATH PENALTY. PLAIN AND SIMPLE BUT WE HAVE NUT CASES DEFENDING THEM WITH A BUNCH OF WORDS. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH GIVE ME A REBUTTAL. BUT YOU WILL NEVER PRODUCE LOGIC. SO GO EDUCATE YOURSELF.


by jow722 April 22, 2010 2:16 AM EDT: So why would it be prison then? Let's not just give to their needs, but to their WANTS too? What about those in there who have a scar on their face, or something or the other, and want plastic surgery?
Transsexualism may be a so called "disorder", but so are the physcoligical crimes one commits, right?
"Educate"? What about LOGIC? It seems lacking in your statement.
The fact that "she" is a murder IS relevent. She is an INMATE and is requesting that WE (the taxpayers) pay for this personally wanted surgery.
And then you talk about the difficulty and pain that she will have to endure from this surgery? What about the difficulty and pain she would have to endure from being raped by all those inmates in prison? And YES there is more than likely that that will happen. And then, what? Pay MORE tax dollars in protecting her, and possible future therapy for what she might endure as a sure female inmate?
I see NOTHING that will benefit society by giving this inmate a sex change.
If a person wants a sex change, then so beit. But an inmate/murder in my eyes does not qualify for all the wants in life from tax dollars. Sorry to seem like I am "discriminating", but this man (excuse me, woman) took away another person's LIFE in murder, and now we ought to give them what they want in the LIFE they still get to live?
This person has NO right to a sex change by taxpayers dollars. If she wants it she should come up with the money to pay for it herself.
Diagnose it all you want with this inmate. I am not complaining about the NEEDS of prisoners, but I don't care for the WANTS of prisoners. If it's a "disorder", maybe she should request therapy.

by lisaquestions April 21, 2010 7:55 AM EDT

Wow. "This woman's a murderer, so I will just spew transphobic hatred all over her."

The cost to taxpayers for her trans-related treatments probably comes to such a miniscule amount of money it has no impact on anyone. I doubt the cost to any one taxpayer amounts to more than a penny.

Trans-related treatments for trans people are not "Club Med." They're necessary treatment. It's really no different than supplying insulin to people who have diabetes, or medication to help control blood pressure.

According to Nancy Nangeroni, there's more to this story than "Michele decided one day to up and kill her wife."

http://www.gendertalk.com/articles/oped/fear&punish.shtml

Reply to this comment


by jow722 April 22, 2010 2:37 AM EDT: Necessary? BS. Sorry, nope. It is entirely different than life threatening medical conditions.
Maybe he (at the time) didn't "up and kill his wife" but the guy strangled his wife with a wire. Strangelation takes more than a minute or two to occure. The man had time to stop his actions. Therefore he was tried by jurry and is now in prison where he belongs.
Your last statement seems unsubstantial.
Why is it that people will do whatever they can to defend convicted criminals who deserve to be in prison?


by lisaquestions April 23, 2010 4:14 AM EDT: You have no idea what you're talking about.

Michele Kosilek killed her wife after her wife threw scalding water at her and attacked her with a knife. She reacted in self-defense.

I defend human rights - and that includes prisoners. Just because Michele's in prison doesn't mean that it's right to deny her necessary medical care, or that you are in any position to judge what that medical care is. You seem quick enough to accept that the jury was right to convict her and the judge was right to sentence her to life imprisonment, but somehow you cannot accept that the decision to provide her with medical care the state deemed necessary is valid?

And so after you pick and choose the decisions made about Michele's life, you expect your argument to be taken seriously? Get real.

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