PORTLAND, Ore. — A former Gladstone cop sentenced to life in prison without parole in the death of his wife has been permanently assigned to the state’s prison for women — despite identifying as a man, with legal recognition, for the past six years.
Lynn Edward Benton is housed in a general population mental health unit at the Coffee Creek Correctional Institution, said Vicki Reynolds, a prison spokeswoman. The unit is for inmates with a mental illness who need treatment or inmates who need “easier access to a behavioral health counselor.”
Reynolds told The Oregonian / OregonLive that she wasn’t aware of what factors led to Benton, 54, being assigned to Coffee Creek and said she didn’t believe she could disclose any detailed information, citing potential privacy violations.
All male and female inmates initially go to Coffee Creek for their intake into the state prison system. Male inmates remain there until they are assigned to another prison facility for housing. Coffee Creek is the state’s only prison for women.
After Benton arrived at Coffee Creek for his intake process, Reynolds said, Benton’s placement likely would have been decided by the Oregon Department of Corrections’ nonconforming gender review committee.
The committee includes officials from health services and other areas who assess an inmate’s vulnerability, security classification, mental health, medical needs and “programming needs,” Reynolds said. They then make recommendations about where inmates are placed.
The state corrections department’s online inmate database identifies the former cop as Lynn Edward Benton and female. Lynne Irene Benton, his birth name, is listed as his alias. When Benton was held in Multnomah County jail pending trial, he was housed with male inmates.
Only one of Benton’s three trial attorneys responded to requests for comment. Laurie Bender said she didn’t know about his prison designation but noted she also hadn’t been in contact with Benton since he was sentenced.
Bender said she didn’t know what to make of Benton’s placement because she didn’t know what factors were considered.
“But I do know that legally, he is a man,” Bender said.
Six inmates assigned housing at Coffee Creek are transgender, said Betty Bernt, a state department of corrections spokeswoman. It is not clear if Benton is considered in that tally and it is not clear how many have transitioned from female to male.
Benton, who was a police officer in Gladstone for more than two decades, underwent female-to-male gender reassignment, legally changed his name and married his wife in 2010.
A Clackamas County jury found Benton guilty in October of aggravated murder, criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and attempted murder in the death of Debbie Higbee Benton. The beauty salon owner was found shot, beaten and strangled in a storage room in her shop in May 2011.
Benton’s longtime friend, Susan Campbell, and her son, Jason Jaynes, also are accused of aggravated murder in the case. Both are scheduled for trial in 2017.
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