A trans-identified inmate in Oregon has received a “vulnerable” designation by an Oregon Court, entitling him to special protections and privileges due to his gender identity. Zera Lola Zombie, who is currently in custody for the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend, had previously been granted temporary relief from what he claimed was male violence targeted against him.
Zombie, born Daniel Lee Smith, first filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) in 2021 alleging he had suffered discrimination on the basis of his gender identity. Amongst the grievances, Zombie claimed he had been subjected to “ongoing harassment” by staff and fellow inmates while incarcerated at male institutions.
Following the launch of his suit, Zombie was briefly transferred to the Coffee Creek Women’s Correctional Facility, but was quickly moved back to the male estate just weeks later for unknown reasons.
Speaking to Reduxx last month, ODOC Media Manager Amber Campbell explained that though housing decisions are reviewed every six months, Zombie was returned to a men’s prison just three months after being sent to the women’s facility.
Though the lawsuit is ongoing, Zombie’s lawyers filed a motion in early September demanding a number of measures be put in place to “protect” Zombie from dangerous male inmates. Among the requests were that Zombie be housed in a private cell on a unit with no sex offenders, and that he ultimately be transferred back to Coffee Creek.
As previously reported by Reduxx, one day after the motion was filed, an Oregon Court temporarily granted Zombie’s request to be designated a “vulnerable” person and ordered ODOC to comply with a number of his demands. The court put the measures in place until September 29, but has now issued a follow-up order extending the motion.
According to the most recent order, filed on September 30, the court has affirmed Zombie’s “vulnerable” status and granted him an “extraordinary remedy” after being satisfied with his claims that accommodations were required to prevent him from being subject to “irreparable harm.”
Among the protections Zombie will receive is a fully private cell where he cannot be “viewed while nude by male inmates and staff.” Another order allowing Zombie to shower and dress away from male inmates and staff suggests that female staff will now be responsible for his cell inspections and physical exams.
Zombie, who is classified as a “female” inmate in the Oregon inmate directory, will also be provided separate meal and medication times to avoid inmates he has previously filed complaints about.
Curiously, Zombie’s demand to be re-transferred to the Coffee Creek Women’s Facility was denied a second time by the court, though no reason was provided. That Zombie was hastily removed from the women’s facility and has been repeatedly denied a transfer since calls into question what took place at the prison to make both ODOC and the court reluctant to allow him to return.
Zombie is currently serving a 35-year sentence for charges including the brutal 2014 murder of Samantha Brown, who had been his girlfriend at the time. Brown was beaten to death, her corpse left in the trailer home she and Zombie shared. While the motive for the crime was never made clear, Brown was survived by four young children.
During the trial, Zombie pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault to avoid possible murder and attempted murder convictions that could have put him in prison for life without parole. He was also charged with an additional first-degree assault on a separate individual, as well as a count of manufacturing meth.
Zombie began identifying as transgender in 2020 and started a hormone regimen around that time. He has since changed his name and gender marker on legal documents. His attorneys in the lawsuit also insist he has developed “obvious breasts” due to his hormones, and have used the point to emphasize he is at heightened risk in a men’s prison.