Roderick Johnson

There's an article in the most recent Out magazine about the torture and neglect of Roderick Johnson, an openly gay Texas inmate. Unfortunately it's not entirely reproduced online, but here's part of it:

When Roderick Johnson was transferred to the James V. Allred Unit of the Texas prison system four years ago, nothing prepared him for what was lying in wait at the maximum security facility. Like every new arrival, he went before a Unit Classification Committee, which would determine his placement within the prison. Since he was an openly gay man, he asked to be placed in the separate “safekeeping” unit for vulnerable individuals. The committee chair’s response to Johnson’s request? “We don’t protect punks on this farm,” he said, and assigned him to the general population.