OTTAWA -- A Canadian who is fighting extradition to Washington state to face a murder charge has been denied permission to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The court rejected the application of transgender inmate Kevin Patterson, who identifies as female and uses the first name of Rachel.
As is usual in leave to appeal applications, the high court did not include reasons for its decision.
Patterson is charged in Washington state with the 2014 bludgeoning death of her roommate, and B.C. Appeal Court documents show she fled to Abbotsford, B.C., but was quickly arrested and has remained in custody.
She opposed the extradition on several grounds, including that she wasn't given U.S. diplomatic assurances of protection from harm potentially suffered by transgender prisoners in either male or female prisons.
A B.C. Appeal Court panel ruled last December that Canada isn't required to seek assurances about precisely how American authorities implement protection policies for transgender or other inmates.
