A convicted murderer who transitioned from male to female while incarcerated has secured a substantial settlement from the Oregon Department of Corrections. This follows a lawsuit alleging mistreatment by prison staff while the individual was confined in a male facility.
Zera Lola Zombie, who was born male but now resides in the women’s Coffee Creek Correctional Facility as of April 2025, was awarded $295,000 in a settlement related to the 2021 lawsuit, according to The Oregonian.
Originally named Daniel Lee Smith, Zombie was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter, having admitted to fatally beating his girlfriend, Samantha Lee Brown, in 2014. The conviction resulted in a 20-year prison sentence, with an additional 15 years added for a first-degree assault on another inmate. Zombie is scheduled for release in 2049.
A 2023 photograph of Zera Lola Zombie, who is currently serving time at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Oregon. (Oregon Department of Corrections)
According to The Oregonian, Zombie publicly identified as transgender in 2020 and began hormone therapy for gender transition. By 2022, she had initiated the process to undergo gender confirmation surgery while in prison.
Under the terms of the settlement, Zombie will personally receive $95,000, while her legal team will be compensated $200,000 for their services.
Zombie claimed repeated sexual assaults by a cellmate at the Oregon State Penitentiary, and further sexual assaults at the hands of a different cellmate at Two Rivers Correctional Facility, according to court documents.
The claim said Zombie was discriminated against based on gender, that officials broke the law by housing a female in a male prison, said they failed to “follow both federal and Oregon rules and laws concerning the designation and protection of plaintiff as a Vulnerable Adult-In-Custody … at high risk for both physical and sexual assault,” housed an inmate with a known sexual predator, refused to provide legally-mandated counseling and failed to report the sexual assaults per Oregon and federal law.
The Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, a women’s prison and prisoner intake center operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections, is located in Wilsonville, Ore., in 2019. The facility opened in 1991. (KELLY JORDAN/Statesman Journal)
In 2023, a judge designated Zombie as a vulnerable person, forcing the prison to allow Zombie to live in a single-person cell.
“On this record, it is not at all clear that, without the Court’s intervention, defendants will refrain from placing plaintiff in a cell with an inmate known to be a sex offender, or that defendants will designate plaintiff as a vulnerable inmate,” said an order written by United States District Court Judge Ann Aiken. “Plaintiff need not await another assault before obtaining preventative relief.”
The Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, a women’s prison and prisoner intake center operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections, is located in Wilsonville, Ore. It opened in 1991. (KELLY JORDAN / Statesman Journal)
“While we cannot comment on specifics of litigation, we take all allegations of sexual assault seriously and are committed to addressing them thoroughly and responsibility, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Corrections told Fox News Digital. “We uphold our duty to protect those in our custody, guided by a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse and harassment. Prevention remains a priority, and we are dedicated to eliminating sexual assault and misconduct in Oregon’s correctional facilities.”
Zombie’s attorney, John Burgess, did not return a request for comment.
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