Posts Tagged ‘prison rape elimination act’
Prison Legal News battles DOC censorship of important information on sexual violence in prisons
By Christopher Zoukis Prison Legal News has launched an important lawsuit against Arizona’s Department of Corrections over the withholding of their publication from prisoners. The editions in question discuss documented cases of rape and sexual violence perpetrated by prison staff against inmates—one of which took place in an Arizona prison and was heard in federal…
Read MoreWhen will we finally hit the tipping point in transgender prisoner rights?
By Christopher Zoukis This past week, a UK transgender woman incarcerated in a men’s prison in Bath, took her life. The warning signs from Vicky Thompson were far from subtle: she had repeatedly told family, friends, and prison officials that she would kill herself were she to find herself in a men’s prison. Yet…
Read MoreFirst recognition of violations under Prison Rape Elimination Act for transgender inmates
It feels like every week we are faced with new accounts of abuse against transgender inmates by prison staff. So it’s with guarded optimism we view a ruling handed down last week that represents a small victory. This past summer a Maryland judge agreed that the treatment constituted a violation of the Prison Rape Elimination…
Read MorePrison Rape Elimination Act Blunders: Arizona Department of Corrections Refuses to Comply with PREA Standards
By Christopher Zoukis On May 15, 2014, the State of Arizona joined six other states and one territory in a dubious group that has missed the deadline for compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), a federal statutory scheme that set “national standards for the detection, reduction and punishment of prison rape,” signed into…
Read More