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Isolated prisoner starts to eat again
By CHASE SQUIRES © St. Petersburg Times, published August 31, 2000 NEW PORT RICHEY -- Anna Connelly, a transgendered county jail inmate who attempted suicide this month and began a hunger strike Aug. 19, is eating again, friends said Wednesday. The weeklong fast served its purpose, according to Connelly's friend, Donna Dunham, and appointed defense attorney Anne Wansboro. Dunham said the hunger strike attracted the attention of a statewide group that lobbies for the rights of transgendered people, giving Connelly hope and a sense of acceptance. Connelly is listed in the Pasco County jail system and in court records as male. But Connelly's name has been legally changed from Arthur to Anna, and the state Department of Motor Vehicles lists Connelly as female, according to Dunham and a computer database of driver's licenses. Connelly refers to herself as female and asks that others do so as well. Jessica Archer, director of the Florida Organization for Gender Equality, said it is common for transgendered people to be referred to by the gender they have adopted. Connelly, awaiting trial on charges of armed robbery and possession of a hoax bomb, has been kept in protective custody at the county jail in Land O'Lakes since being arrested in November. The custody arrangement has kept Connelly isolated -- away from other inmates -- 23 hours a day. The hunger strike was a way to attract attention to that situation, Connelly told the Times in an interview last week. Wansboro was in court Wednesday to ask Circuit Judge William Webb if he would go below state sentencing guidelines for Connelly's armed robbery and the bomb possession charges if a plea was offered. Prosecutor Scott Andringa told Webb he did not get appropriate notification of Wednesday's hearing and asked for more time to prepare. The hearing was delayed for two weeks. Wansboro said she didn't have the power to force the Sheriff's Office to allow Connelly out of protective custody and to socialize with other inmates. But she said if the court agrees to go below the minimum guideline sentence of 41/2 years in prison -- possibly with a combination of county jail time, house arrest and probation -- Connelly could strike a plea agreement and be out of jail by the end of September. Connelly, 43, of Spring Hill, was arrested in November and accused of taking part in a convenience store robbery as well as having a homemade bomblike device. Dunham and Archer attended the hearing Wednesday. Connelly did not speak to the court, but chatted with Wansboro and waved to the two supporters in the audience. As they left the courtroom, Dunham and Archer waved. Archer mouthed, "Be strong" as she left the courtroom. "She felt so alone," Dunham said. "There was nobody there for her. She was so depressed. Now she knows there are people out here who care about her." Dunham now has power of attorney for Connelly so she can aid in the legal defense. She said she is also listed as next of kin on jail records. "When she gets out, she'll come home with me," Dunham said. Archer's organization, FORGE, considers itself the first and only statewide organization exclusively dedicated to gender advocacy and education. She said it is not uncommon for transgendered people to feel isolated in society and to feel depressed. FORGE defines transgendered people as those who live in the gender opposite their birth sex without surgery or who are awaiting or have had surgery to change their sex. Connelly's bail remained at $25,000 Wednesday.
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From today's Pasco Times |
