MoveOn volunteers reviewed this petition and determined that it either may not reflect MoveOn members' progressive values, or that MoveOn members may disagree about whether to support this petition. MoveOn will not promote the petition beyond hosting it on our site. Click here to view our terms of service.

To: Cynthia Stoppel, Adminstrative Law Judge, Dave Mahoney, Dane County Sheriff, Sara Wasserberg, Parole and Probation Officer, and Juan Colas, Chief Judge

Hands Off Lisa Mitchell!

Lisa Mitchell is a Black trans woman who has been sitting in solitary confinement in Dane County Jail for the past 6 months. She is in solitary solely because of her gender identity as a trans woman.

Why is this important?

Lisa Mitchell is a Black trans woman who has been sitting in solitary confinement in Dane County Jail for the past 6 months. She is in solitary solely because of her gender identity as a trans woman.

She is being held on charges of “prostitution.” Sex work should not be criminalized. In Mitchell’s case, if she engaged in sex work, she did so out of poverty as she was homeless at the time of this arrest. Mitchell was initially charged for an altercation that she had with the person who solicited her for this work which has since been dropped because she was not at fault. Lisa would have otherwise been released from jail pending the resolution of these charges, except she was already under supervision by the state's Community Corrections.

While fighting her case, Lisa Mitchell has experienced transphobia at all levels of the criminal system. She has been denied hormone therapy, has been called the wrong name and pronouns, her gender identity has been called deceptive and a disguise, and again, her long sit in solitary is only due to her gender identity. The harassment and criminalization of Lisa Mitchell due to being a Black trans woman must stop.

During the 1-hour a day she has out of her cell she has been working to get trans health care exclusions removed from Medicaid in Wisconsin. She is a tireless activist for all trans people and she needs our support now.

We say #HandsOffBlackWomen! #HandsOffLisaMitchell!

*We demand that Lisa be let out of solitary confinement
*We demand that Lisa be given time served, revocation dropped, and
released from jail immediately.
*We demand that the conditions of her probation do not limit her gender
expression as a woman.

We will not stand for Lisa Mitchell serving any more time in jail or being sent back to prison. She has been criminalized due to poverty and her gender identity since she was a teen and is now thirty five. It is time for her to be released, get full health care, get housing, and get a chance to truly advocate for trans people from the outside.

1 in 2 Black trans women are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated in the US. We need to end this pattern of criminalization and we can take one step towards this by setting Lisa Mitchell free.

All power to the people,

Young Gifted and Black
Freedom Inc
Operation Welcome Home
Dane County Trans Health Group
Groundwork
Outreach
No Dane County Jail Working Group