BOSTON -- A man who was convicted of murder is demanding the state pay for a sex-change operation and he has gone to court to try to get it.

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that Robert Kosilek, 57, is serving time for murdering his wife Cheryl, who was strangled to death in 1990.

Kosilek has gone to federal court to try to get a judge to order the state to pay for the operation on the grounds that denying him the surgery amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

The state currently pays for Kosilek's female hormone treatments and laser hair removal because federal judge Mark Wolf ruled in 2002 that Kosilek is entitled to the treatment because he suffers from a condition called "gender identity disorder."

Now, Kosilek, who goes by the name "Michelle," wants to become a woman. He has sued the state twice before to get the surgery. Tuesday, a psychiatrist argued Kosilek is likely to commit suicide in prison if he doesn't get the operation.

"We ask that gender identity disorder be treated like any other medical condition," said Kosilek's attorney, Frances Cohen.

But a lawyer for the state argued that his safety in prison would be threatened if he did have the operation. Neither side gave an estimate of how much the operation would cost. The trial is expected to last two weeks.