I'd be free by now if I had stayed as a man

Scotland’s ‘Hannibal Lecter’ accuses SPS of transphobia

- MARCELLO MEGA

A MURDERER dubbed Hannibal Lecter jnr after strangling a cellmate with shoelaces claims she is being kept behind bars because she changed gender.

Sophie Eastwood, 36, is serving a life sentence for killing Paul Algie, 22, in 2004.

Formerly, Daniel Eastwood, has been living as a woman in jail for four years and completed her 15-year minimum term in 2019.

But she has remained insecure conditions and is not due for release.

Speaking from Polmont Prison, Eastwood claims she would have been freed by now if she had remained as a man.

And she told how she recently overdosed in a bid to secure a transfer to the hospital.

She said: “I was desperate. It wasn't a suicide attempt, I just felt I needed to be in the hospital”

Speaking about her fears, Eastwood said: In January 2020, I met all the standard criteria to pass to less secure conditions, except being biologically female.

“The prison service wanted me to have a psychological assessment as I hadn't had one since starting to live as a female.

After that, I was told by a manager that I would have passed the assessment had I still been living as a man.