Tara Hudson “a lot happier” after being moved to an all-female prison
By Micah Sulit
Tara Hudson’s mum, Jackie Brooklyn, has told the Bath Chronicle that the transgender inmate is “a lot happier” after she was transferred from a men-only prison to an all-female facility.
Hudson, who was sentenced to 12 weeks in a Category B Bristol men’s prison for assault, is now in the Eastwood Park women’s prison in South Gloucestershire, where she rang Brooklyn hours after her transfer to say “it’s 10 times better than (Bristol).”
Brooklyn told the Bath Chronicle, “I was very relieved because there were a lot of rumours and then it was confirmed that she had been moved. When I had the phone call from her I was just so relieved.”
The 26-year-old’s transfer came after a public campaign, joined by Bath Conservative MP Ben Howlett, over fears for her safety. Nearly 160,000 people have signed an online petition to have Hudson transferred from men’s prison to an all-female facility.
Hudson’s supporters also held demonstrations in Bristol and London last Friday while she was at Bristol Crown Court to appeal against her 12-week jail sentence.
The appeal was dismissed after judges ruled that Hudson had to serve her custodial sentence, seeing that she had a “worrying criminal record”.
Recorder Llewelyn Sellick said it was “for the prison service and not the court to establish where a sentence should be served”, but invited the former to reconsider where Hudson should remain for the rest of her jail term.
Thankfully, Hudson was moved to Eastwood Park shortly after the court hearing.
Brooklyn previously told the media that Hudson was facing sexual harassment in men’s prison. “Inmates are screaming from their cells: ‘Tara, Tara, Tara, show us your tits’,” she said after speaking with Hudson on the phone.