A transgender woman who turned back into a man when she was denied hormone drugs in jail is suing the prison system.
Ashley Diamond, 38, was released on Monday after serving just three years of an 11-year stretch for burglary - and says she was sexually assaulted eight times while she was inside.
Her treatment in jail was "tantamount to torture" and she even considered suicide and self castration.
In a statement released through her lawyers, Ashley said: "I'm overjoyed to be with my family again and out of harm's way.
"Although the systematic abuse and assaults I faced for more than three years have left me emotionally and physically scarred, I'll continue to fight for justice and to shine a light on the gross mistreatment of transgender inmates in Georgia and nationwide."
In her lawsuit, which is backed by the US Department of Justice, she claims she was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment which led to her attempting suicide and self-castration.
She says prison officials denied her hormone therapy — treatment she had undergone since aged 17 — and she suffered "unspeakable sexual assaults" by violent offenders.
Staff referred to her with male pronouns as well as "faggot," "he/she" and "it," and sent to her solitary confinement for "pretending to be a woman," she claimed.
The Georgia Parole Board say her early release is nothing to do with the lawsuit.
Steve Hayes, a spokesman for the board, told the New York Daily News Ashley was deemed “rehabilitated” and “the parole release is compatible with the welfare of society and public safety.”
He added: "The board has released inmates previously prior to their individual eligibility dates as it has the authority to do when the board deems the inmate's parole release is compatible with the welfare of society."
Attorney Chinyere Ezie said she was "thrilled" Ashley was out of prison, but the lawsuit "was far from over".
"Her release does not erase her barbaric treatment by GDC officials, which was tantamount to torture," she added.
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