Isla Bryson, a transgender woman convicted of raping two women before transitioning, has been moved from Scotland's all-female Cornton Vale prison to a male facility following an intervention by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Sturgeon told MSPs on Thursday that Bryson would not be held at Cornton Vale "either short term or long term", after the offender's initial placement there sparked political outrage. The first minister emphasised it was important not to suggest "even inadvertently" that trans women pose an inherent threat to women.
The Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, described the decision as a "screeching U-turn", after Justice Secretary Keith Brown had earlier said he trusted the Prison Service to decide placement. Sturgeon's spokesperson confirmed she had taken part in a meeting with Brown shortly before announcing the move.
Bryson, who first appeared in court in 2019 as Adam Graham, was found guilty of two charges of rape after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. The court heard she preyed on vulnerable women, raping one in Clydebank in 2016 and another in Drumchapel in 2019.
The case has reignited debate over Scotland's gender recognition reforms, which the UK government blocked from royal assent due to "safety issues for women and children". Sturgeon stressed that no rapist should be held in a women's prison, agreeing with the chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland.
