Savannah Hulsey Pointer, FISM News
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Convicted Scottish murderer, formerly known as Danial Eastwood, who now goes by Sophie Eastwood, has claimed to now identify as a baby and is requesting accommodations that would go along with that stage of life, including diapers and baby food, according to The Daily Record.
Eastwood, 36, is serving out a life sentence for killing cellmate Paul Algie in 2004 by strangling him with his shoelaces. The convicted murderer has been living at a women’s facility since 2018, however, following his 2016 announcement that he was transitioning to become a woman.
After receiving these accommodations, Eastwood now has decided that he “identifies” as a baby and should receive specialized treatment in line with his new identity.
The prisoner decided that he would “transition” from a man to a woman in 2016, something that is becoming more common in jails and has seen accommodation from authorities, however according to a source at the prison, “this is obviously something else entirely.”
The inmate has already received a pacifier from officials at the Polmont prison and is now requesting that his food be blended like baby food and that guards hold his hand when he is out of his cell.
The Mirror reported that Eastwood, branded “the shoelace killer” due to his crime, is also actively wearing diapers, along with other changes.
According to the Daily Record, it is understood that the prison authorities are taking the demand seriously and might establish protocols for those inmates that demand such treatments.
A prison official told the Daily Record, “…the Scottish Prison Service has no protocol in place for dealing with prisoners who decide they are babies. Eastwood is a complex person and intelligent but she is pretty demanding on the resources of the prison and enjoys being the center of attention.”
The official went on to say that while there is significant doubt that Eastwood is doing all of this as a way to gain attention and play games with the prison guards, in today’s day and age “prisons are very tuned in to human rights and the legal implications they throw up” so they must take his claims seriously.
Eastwood and his victim, Algie were housed at the same facility where Eastwood was serving a short term for dangerous driving. However, just a month before his release, Eastwood strangled Algie, 22, with what authorities called “considerable and prolonged” force.
The violence of the death made such an impact on the staff that they branded Eastwood “Hannibal Lecter Jr.” However, after being convicted the then-18-year-old was only required to serve a minimum of 15 years of his life sentence. But according to authorities, the difficult nature of Eastwood’s case has him in prison longer, having already served 17 years.
When asked about the Murder Eastwood said, “I was 18. To say I had unresolved issues would be a massive understatement. I was naive, immature, and thought that killing my cell mate would get me sectioned and I’d spend the rest of my life in hospital being looked after. I’m sorry and regret it every day.”
The Daily Record source said the reason Eastwood is still in prison is because he “has been difficult and manipulative over the years,” and has nothing to do with his self-identification claims.
This account is one in a string of events that has shown how trying to manipulate the prison system to accommodate a felon’s “identity” has had direct ramifications as it diverts resources and attention away from the safety of other inmates and the general public in general.
In November of last year, female inmates in the California prison system sued the state for allowing biological men to be placed in female facilities, saying it is leading to an unsafe environment. Additionally, earlier this month it was revealed that two women inmates had become pregnant after the ACLU won a battle to house 27 transgender inmates in what was previously an all-female facility.