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Jailed Transgender Woman Dies After Describing Horrid Conditions in Ohio Prison

HeadlineSep 23, 2020

In Cleveland, Ohio, a 28-year-old transgender woman, who died in her cell at Cuyahoga County Jail last month, left a hidden letter denouncing the jail’s horrid conditions. The letter was found by her mother after picking up her daughter’s belongings. In the letter, Lea Daye wrote prisoners were served food that was cold, smelled bad and tasted like cleaning chemicals. Daye said the jail also failed to provide cleaning supplies and that the conditions had only gotten worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports her mother says Daye was being held in an area of the jail reserved for men. Questions remain on what caused her death.

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