Stuck on a plane ride from an airline in bankruptcy, I had expected to see a lousy movie, and “The Longest Yard” didn’t disappoint. What did surprise was the dated, cheapshot homophobia that pervaded the film, starring Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. This was, after all, the 2005 remake, not the 1974 original. But no,
Thanks to a coalition of evangelicals, left-wing prison reformers, and human rights activists, Congress is on the verge of tackling America’s most ignored crime problem, prison rape. A measure that would apply various types of pressure to shape up lax prison systems is now working its way towards approval, though not as quickly as its
Bill Handel is a drive-time radio host on L.A.’s KFI-AM (640). He stays popular because he has a feel for what makes his audience chuckle as they head for that unfunny 9 a.m. encounter with the boss. His repertoire includes prison rape jokes, the tired but reliable picking-up-soap-in-the-shower ones, especially when the hapless subject is
Roderick Johnson, a 33-year-old African-American Navy veteran from a small town in rural Texas, didn’t ask for it. Prison did it to him, and his life will never be the same. While serving time for a nonviolent offense, Johnson endured the equivalent of sexual slavery at the hands of prison gangs. A young, openly gay
Prison rapes in Ireland are uncommon, the governor of Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, Mr John Lonergan, said yesterday. He was commenting after a High Court hearing on Wednesday, at which a barrister representing a 19-year-old male prisoner in Mountjoy said the man had been raped at knife point by two inmates on August 2nd. Mr