On September 30, 2021, Associate Director Elizabeth Simpson filed a writ of mandamus in Wake County Superior Court against Prison Commissioner Todd Ishee to compel him to transfer Ashlee Inscoe from a men’s prison to a women’s prison. Ms. Inscoe is a female intersex person who was erroneously assigned male at birth over forty years ago.
A writ of mandamus is the legal tool that forces a state actor to execute a non-discretionary action that they are refusing to execute. [link to writ]
Attorney Simpson was quoted in the News & Observer: “Your repeated conclusory statements will not be sufficient assurance that she is safe from harm and not subject to coercion and retaliation, while she continues to be a woman incarcerated in a men’s prison.”