Women raped while in prisons in Michigan won a huge victory with the state providing $100 million to settle their claims. This settlement is not only a vindication for these women, who were raped while in the custody of the government, but also solid evidence that prison rape will no longer be tolerated.
This good news follows on the heels of the last month's historic release of the report of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission. The report, which culminates six years of work by the commission and its staff, leaves no doubt that prison rape is a significant problem in our prisons. According to a study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at least 65,000 inmates are sexually assaulted in prisons each year. The standards which accompany the report will hold prison officials accountable for fighting prison rape. The standards establish a zero tolerance policy regarding rape and sexual assault in our prisons.
Prison rape has long been a staple of jokes on late night TV, but otherwise it has been ignored as an unseemly but intractable problem of our prisons. When one Massachusetts prison official was asked what should be done to combat prison rape, he responded "It's prison. What can I say?"
All that changed when a broad coalition of civil rights, religious and political groups from the left and right joined together to press for the passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act. The breadth of the coalition is evidenced by the senators who joined together as chief sponsors -- Ted Kennedy and Jeff Sessions. They both took the position that it was immoral to allow people in government facilities to be sexually assaulted and raped.
The standards adopted by the Commission must now be approved by the Attorney General. Once approved, the standards will immediately apply to federal prisons. The states must adopt them or face the loss of a portion of federal funds intended for prisons.
With the Michigan settlement and the Commission's report, it is obvious that a new day has come in the treatment of sexual crimes in prison. No crime, no matter how heinous, has a sentence that includes being raped. Faced with a horrible and scandalous situation in our prisons, the government has responded appropriately. That is something we can all be proud of.
To learn more about the fight against prison rape see Justice Fellowship's Resource page on Prison Rape. Winston Churchill said, "...the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilization of any country." Until our prisoners are safe from being raped we will have failed this test of civilization.
Follow Pat Nolan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/prisonreform
Quite frankly if we dont fix this, we dont deserve to exist.
There's a line in the new released movie "Watchmen" where The Comedian says, "..what happen to the American dream ?........it came true..."
Prisoner v. victim.
While I support your cause I should remind you you'll garner very little support for it should you even dare to equate what happens to innocent women victims with what happens to many male prisoners. That would be a very dumb thing to do, and it doesn't matter how right you are. Ignore my advice and set your cause back to zero with the general public.
Which eliminates your voice as any kind of authority on anything. I don't care if its Charles Manson. If your solution is to rape him, then you are just as sick and twisted as he is.
Why do so many Americans feel that sadistic criminal behavior is sometimes okay? As long as the "good guys" are doing it to the "bad guys"??? Don't we have a moral compass that defines right and wrong in clearer terms? Such as "rape is always bad. Period."?
Titicut Follies is a black and white 1967 documentary film by United States filmmaker Frederick Wiseman about the treatment of inmates / patients at Bridgewater State Hospital for the criminally insane, a Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titicut_follies
Seems as tho Massachusetts still got some growing up to do.
I worked in a prison in Texas. The guards are trained to antagonize, bully and intimidate the offenders. One inmate said to me "I did the crime and now I am doing the time", why are they allowed to treat us like they do"..
I feel sickened that this won't include private prisons. I worked in a private facility. Offenders told me that they would rather be in TDCJ than where they are now. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)
Its like privatizing police forces.
There should NOT BE private prisons. And this is why. Maybe you can be part of the movement to eliminate the outsourcing of prisons to private parties. You have my support for that.
One room with toilet, bed sink, shower and shelf with just enough room to exercise. Prisoner keeps it clean. All food, etc. delivered via those small, safe doors. It's prison. They don't need anything those of us on the outside have to work for. If they choose to break what's provided for them, they do without.
I believe the recidivism rate would go way, way down in a hurry.