A baby-killing male Indiana inmate who identifies as a Muslim woman has sued his prison chaplain for prohibiting him from wearing a hijab outside his cell.
Autumn Cordellionè, birth name Jonathan Richardson, is serving a 55-year sentence at the all-male Branchville Correctional Facility for strangling his 11-month-old stepdaughter to death.
“[I] was told that male Muslims could wear their kufis everywhere they went, but I couldn’t wear my hijab a females religious head ware because I was a male residing in a male institution even though I am a transgender woman, except in my bed area,” Cordellionè alleges in his suit.
The suit states that the prison chaplain originally told him he couldn’t wear the hijab because his religious beliefs were listed as “Wiccan.” He fired back by claiming he follows multiple faiths.
“I responded that I am an eclectic practitioner who is a member of the Theosophical Society in America. I practice a diversity of faiths in order to custom tailor my spiritual beliefs to my spiritual needs,” his complaint continues.
In the suit, he accuses the chaplain of violating his 14th Amendment rights and also his Eighth Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment.
“He should be aware, as Chaplain, the stigma and shame that is attributed to Islamic women when they go uncovered and without a hijab. Women are viewed as whores, tempters of men, and adulterators; by Islamic society both in and out of prison. I have been shunned, made a social pariah, and amongst my own religious community,” his complaint reads.
“For without the support of the Islamic community, I will struggle and likely fail to achieve salvation for by Mohammed’s teachings a Muslim who knows of the teachings, yet strays away from them will never reach heaven,” it continues.
NEW: Transgender Muslim Prisoner, Sentenced to 55 Years for Infant’s Death, Initiates Discrimination Lawsuit Over Hijab Denial.
The transgender inmate, Jonathan C. Richardson, also known as Autumn Cordellione, was sentenced to 55 years in prison after he admitted to killing ‘the… pic.twitter.com/7HdFFo5jDb
— I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0) February 18, 2024
Cordellionè is seeking a total of $150,000 in damages, in addition to the right to freely wear his hijab.
Cordellionè is also involved in another suit targeting the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC). In August, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the IDOC on his behalf, alleging his 8th and 14th amendment rights were being violated by the department’s refusal to grant him sex reassignment surgery.
“The DOC cannot deny necessary treatment to incarcerated people simply on the basis that they are transgender. To do so is a form of discrimination,” ACLU of Indiana legal director Ken Falk said at the time,” according to the New York Post.
“Gender-affirming care is life-saving care. If the legislature can deny a form of healthcare arbitrarily, they could just as easily deny other lifesaving treatments to people who are incarcerated,” he added, referencing a bill banning the IDOC from using taxpayer money to fund sex reassignment surgery.
Cordellionè’s crime dates back to 2001, when he was arrested after his stepdaughter died in his care while her mother was reportedly at work.
“The night of the infant’s death, Cordellioné had been visited by friends who later told police that he had been ‘acting strangely,’ according to Reduxx. “Despite claiming the little girl was inside sleeping, Cordellioné had loud music playing in the home, and his guests noted that he appeared to have a fresh, bleeding tattoo of the child’s name carved into his arm.”
“Later that night, after his friends left, Cordellioné went to his neighbor and asked him to call 911, claiming the child was unresponsive. When emergency personnel arrived, they were briefly able to resuscitate the girl, but she died shortly after being rushed to the hospital,” Reduxx reported earlier this month.
During two interviews, Cordellioné appeared “calm and unemotional,” but his story reportedly changed drastically between them.
First, he claimed he’d found the baby unresponsive after completing some chores. But then he claimed the baby was being “fussier than usual” and that he’d thrown her in the air to calm her down.
“He said her ‘head bopped forward and back up in a rough type of a manner,’ and that the child continued to cry so he proceeded to shake her aggressively in an effort to calm her down,” according to Reduxx.
An autopsy later determined that the baby had died from being strangled to death.
“Well I know is I killed the little f–king bitch,” he reportedly told a corrections officer while awaiting trial.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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