Oregon Settlement Payout Sparks New Questions Over Prison Housing

Clear Facts

• The state of Oregon agreed to pay $295,000 to Zera Zombie in a federal civil rights settlement.
• The payout includes $95,000 in damages and $200,000 for legal fees.
• The lawsuit centered on claims of repeated sexual assault and unsafe housing placements in men’s facilities.

The state of Oregon has agreed to pay $295,000 to Zera Zombie, a biological male inmate who identifies as a woman, to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit. The payment includes $95,000 in damages and $200,000 for legal fees following allegations of repeated sexual assault while housed in men’s facilities.

Court filings alleged that prison staff ignored reports of daily physical and sexual abuse from cellmates serving sentences for violent crimes against women. Zombie, whose legal name is Daniel Lee Smith, began taking female hormones in 2020 and is currently incarcerated at a state prison for women.