Jailing of trans rapist Isla Bryson is 'shambles', says prison chief

Sending a transgender rapist to a women's situation was an "unnecessary shambles", its erstwhile politician said.

Rhona Hotchkiss, who ran Cornton Vale until 2017, said she would person refused to person Isla Bryson astatine the prison.

Bryson, 31, was remanded to the jailhouse successful Stirling aft being convicted of raping 2 women earlier she changed gender. Bryson began transitioning from a antheral to a pistillate portion awaiting trial.

It came aft First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that Bryson would not beryllium allowed to service her word astatine Cornton Vale.

She is owed to beryllium sentenced adjacent month, but this has been the taxable of heated debate, with information concerns for pistillate prisoners.

Bryson was initially held astatine Cornton Vale during a 72-hour segregated appraisal play this week.

Ms Hotchkiss said the enactment implicit her detention was an "unnecessary shambles" that could person been avoided with specializer units for transgender inmates.

She told BBC Scotland: "I would person refused to person this idiosyncratic successful Cornton Vale, I'm afraid. It conscionable goes against each earthy justice.

"I would person insisted determination was nary crushed for this idiosyncratic to beryllium assessed successful Cornton Vale.

"It's incorrect to usage segregation erstwhile it's not strictly indispensable and successful my sentiment that's what has happened here."

Isla Bryson committed the crimes successful Clydebank and Glasgow successful 2016 and 2019 portion known arsenic Adam Graham.

The lawsuit is believed to beryllium the archetypal clip a trans pistillate has been convicted of raping women successful Scotland.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said it considers the risks posed by and to the idiosyncratic captive erstwhile deciding wherever they are sent.

But Ms Hotchkiss, a professional of the Scottish government's sex reforms, suggested Bryson's concern would go a "bigger problem" if the Gender Recognition Reform Bill was enacted.

The measure has been blocked by the UK authorities implicit its imaginable interaction connected equality laws that use crossed Scotland, England and Wales.

Ms Hotchkiss said: "If you tin get a Gender Recognition Certificate wrong 3 months, tons of antheral prisoners volition bash it."

She added: "We request 3rd units for trans radical and they should beryllium successful antheral prisons."

Ms Hotchkiss said it was "simply not acceptable" to let each trans prisoners to spell to a jailhouse matching their sex identity.

She told BBC Scotland: "It's unbalancing rights. They are not considering the rights of women.

"They are lone considering 1 broadside of this equation. It seems to maine rather wrong."

Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown said connected Wednesday that helium trusted the SPS to determine connected the close venue for trans prisoners.

And Nicola Sturgeon said her authorities had fixed nary "formal direction" to the situation work connected wherever Bryson should beryllium held.

She added: "This idiosyncratic lawsuit is not astir whether they are trans oregon not, successful this idiosyncratic lawsuit this is simply a idiosyncratic who's been convicted of rape, truthful this idiosyncratic is simply a rapist and a enactment offender and that is what's important."

An SPS spokesperson said decisions connected wherever transgender prisoners were located were made "by a multi-disciplinary appraisal of some hazard and need".

He added: "Such decisions question to support some the wellbeing and rights of the idiosyncratic arsenic good arsenic the payment and rights of others astir them, including staff, successful bid to execute an result that balances risks and promotes the information of all."