“Hate Me pt.1-4” by incarcerated Black trans woman, Aaliyah Straite

“Hate Me pt.1-4” by Aaliyah Straite, a Black trans woman, who has been in solitary confinement at Central Prison in Raleigh, NC for over three months.

Read more about the incident that led to her being in solitary here.

How to write Aaliyah: Either Create TextBehind account or send handwritten letter, which she will only receive a scanned in version of. Address EXACTLY as below so she can receive your mail :

Sheldon Straite #1137539

Central Prison

P.O. Box 247

Phoenix, MD 21131

Letter from an anonymous friend of Ashlee Inscoe.

To the General Public and Taxpayers of North Carolina,

I am an inmate at Nash Correctional Institute. I am writing this on behalf of Miss Ashlee Inscoe. I have known Miss Inscoe for several years now. I have laughed with her and I have cried with her. I know her history, I know her problems and I know her fears. 

I have witnessed Miss Inscoe personally go out of her way to help other inmates and staff. I have seen her work herself ragged 10-12 hr/day at .40 cents/per day to help this unit pass an inspection by the ACA to get accredited. I have also watched her physical and mental health decline, because the great state of North Carolina won't do the right thing. The court keeps ordering the N.C. Dept. of Adult Corrections to move her to a female unit, but they keep defying the judge’s ruling. 

This state took 57 years of my life in a court trial that lasted 3 ½ days, with only 1/10 of the guidance against me that Miss Inscoe has against the state in this case. Yet they keep dragging this out (years now) at who knows how much cost to the taxpayers. The court has ruled in her favor 4 times in the past year, yet she still sits here at Nash. The only female among 900 male inmates. 

Imagine being the only female among 900 males. You don’t have anyone to talk “girl talk” with. You have no one to confide in. You have no one to bond with and discuss female issues. She is constantly being misgendered in any activity she tries to participate in. (In the following statements; I mean no harm or anything derogatory toward the gay community. I’m just trying to paint a picture of what Miss Inscoe has to deal with.)

She tries to go to church –she is called “mr” “sir” “brother” not miss or sister. She is told how homosexuality is a sin and “god” can help “him” with this. 

A: Ashlee is a her not a him

B: To my knowledge Ashlee is not homosexual. Not that it matters. It’s the point of the matter.

C: Ashlee has a medical condition (from birth) no choice of her own. Do the research on “intersex” she can’t play sports for being afraid of being groped or pawed at. 

I have seen her have panic attacks because there are too many people on the yard talking about getting high or their “sexual exploits” no matter what their crime, no one should have to endure this kind of treatment on a daily basis. 

As I stated, Miss Inscoe is a very good friend of mine, and it tears the heart right out of me to see her crying because once again after having faith that our justice system works, once again after jumping through all the hoops, ringing all the bells, once again doing her part to play by the rules, the great state of N.C. decides it is above the law (which states: female inmate will be housed separately from male inmates. Miss Inscoe is legally female in any sense of the word) and snatches the rug out from under her feet. It kills me to watch this system continually beat her down, over and over and over. I beg you, if you have loved ones in this place, think about how they are being mistreated, if you are a taxpayer think about how your tax dollars are being wasted by this state. Wake up John Q public. Do the research on this case and see how corrupt this system is. Remember 1 mistake or 1 moment of bad judgment and you could easily find yourself in here also. With very little hope of getting out!

-Name withheld due to fear of retaliation 

Aaliyah Straite, assaulted by officers at Nash Correctional Institution

Aaliyah Straite, a Black trans woman, wrote a letter on 11-24-23 detailing an assault that happened at Nash CI. Below are her words. The only person’s name who isn’t redacted is Warden Lee. Someone has to be held accountable for the way transgender people are mistreated under the state’s care…

“This is Aaliyah, boy, I got beat up, bruises on my left arm, pepper spray on my bra. I’m in Raleigh Central Prison suicide watch. I came off of it on 11/22/23 I’ll start from the beginning on 11/21/23 at 6:25 I went into the hallway to talk to Sergeant [redacted]. He’s cool. Before I could even talk to him, Sergeant [redacted] came out of the office waved me off. I said that I need to talk to Sergeant [redacted] I turned around and went back into C-block.  He came and stormed in behind me saying “Straite, that’s my word, I’m gonna get you I see you in this hallway today.” I said “Please leave me alone. It’s my first amendment right, I’m not disrespecting you.” He left the block and came back in the block. Sergeant [redacted] said “Come on out here in the hallway.” I put my hands behind me. He told Officer [redacted] to put cuffs on me and I walked into the office. Officer [redacted], grab my left arm, squeezing the cuffs into my skin, and bending my arm. I said, “Please stop being aggressive with me”, he said, ‘Shut up faggot.” I sat down because he was hurting me 6:35am he was dragging me down the hallway while I was on the floor.

Once he dragged me through the slider doors, Sergeant [redacted] came out of the office and said “Get your bitch ass up”. We went outside in the rain, I’m being called “faggot”. Sergeant [redacted] came running up the sidewalk. He then said “Shut the fuck up faggot”, and punched me in the back of the head, I fell to the ground. Officer [redacted] still had me by the arm, grabs my breast, and started groping me. Sergeant [redacted] grabbed my butt and squeezed and yanked me up. Sergeant [redacted] came rushing out, out the Unit #1. I yelled Sergeant [redacted] “Help!” Sergeant [redacted] lied and said “He spit on me, mace him”. I yelled, “Liar!”. He mace me in the face and in the mouth. I hit the ground. Sergeant [redacted] said “Tase him.” while it was raining, then dragged me through the mud. But before Sergeant [redacted] came out of Unit #1, Sergeant [redacted] said “Rip his bra off he ain’t no real woman”, grabbed my shirt, pulling releasing mace down my shirt all on my breast. Camera will show me without a shirt jacket on and a coat jacket. So I have to explain how mace got on my bra. 

I was taken to seg by Sergeant [redacted]. I said “Sergeant [redacted] you are the only one who seen what happened you know I didn’t spit on him, please tell the truth.” He said “Straite, I told you to stand up”. And he left it at that. Mind you he wrote a statement on my behalf, when Sergeant [redacted] wrote me up one time, I beat the write-up. I’m facing an a A99 assault on an officer. Boy I go home next year. Why would I do something stupid like that? Officer [redacted] said “Straite I know you didn’t do it”. I went on suicide watch, they sent me to Central Prison in a turtle suit…Nobody took pictures of my wounds. Nurse [redacted] came to segregation at Nash and wrote down the wounds on my left arm and my eye, left eye. I had my glasses on when I was maced, all of it poured down into my eyes. 

Once they took me to shipping and receiving to transfer me, Unit Manager [redacted] came in with Nurse [redacted]. He took pictures with his cell phone, not a state camera, like he was supposed to do, so that is probably erased. No incident report was written. I wrote on an eight page grievance on my assault. Please assist me in anyway you can. I go home next year…, what the hell I look like spitting on someone. Oh the Warden, Ms Lee, came to see me and shipping and receiving. I was trying to tell what happened, she said “Straite, all that’s incorrect. I saw the camera.” But there’s no cameras outside. I said “Ms Lee. I thought you were cool, you mad because you turned me against because you couldn’t turn me against Ashlee Insoe. She said “You are being served an A99 assault on an officer and you’re leaving my prison.”