Month: April 2016

Abbott Reverses Perry on Prison Rape Law

  • Lauren McGaughy
  • October 6, 2015
  • Houston Chronicle

Governor vows to follow federal rules to end rapes   AUSTIN – Gov. Greg Abbott has promised Texas will implement federal rules aimed at eradicating rape in prisons and jails, less than two years after his predecessor, Rick Perry, said it would be “impossible” to do so. On the eve of his second unsuccessful presidential

Supporting Survivors of Prison Rape

  • Mallory Ortberg
  • December 11, 2015
  • The Toast

Hello, friendlets! Last year we shared the Words of Hope project with yourselves, which sends holiday cards to survivors of prison rape as part of Just Detention International. As we do every year, Just Detention International is asking people to write holiday greetings to incarcerated survivors of rape. For so many survivors, this simple gesture,

Take a Minute to Send a Holiday Message to a Prison Rape Survivor

  • Hamilton Nolan
  • December 3, 2015
  • Gawker

A foolproof way to feel good about yourself this holiday season is to send a message to a survivor of prison sexual abuse. And it’s your lucky day: the group Just Detention International allows you to do just that right on their website. Contrary to their mean reputations, Gawker readers have in fact sent thousands of these

Idaho Finally Agrees to Comply with Federal Prison Rape Law

  • Rebecca Boone
  • December 12, 2015
  • Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — After two years of refusing to comply with a federal law intended to stop prison rape, Idaho has reversed course. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter advised the U.S. Department of Justice in a letter Thursday that Idaho’s prisons, jails and juvenile detention centers would work toward coming into full compliance with the

Raped by the Deputy: A Texas Case, A U.S. Problem

  • Abe Louise Young and Katie Matlack
  • February 17, 2016
  • The Establishment

On Dec. 27, 2015, a sheriff’s deputy, armed and on-duty, raped a female inmate in the parking lot of the county jail in San Antonio, Texas. Six days later, the woman reported the assault. Her allegations could have easily been ignored, but for one detail: security cameras had recorded the attack in the jail transport