Category: Press Releases

U.S. Supreme Court Reaffirms Duty of Officials to Protect Prisoners from Rape and Retaliation

  • January 24, 2011

In a decision released today, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling that officials who retaliated against a prisoner when she reported being raped by a prison staff member were immune from litigation. Speaking for the Court in Ortiz v. Jordan, Justice Ginsberg highlighted pre-existing law establishing that officials can be held liable

Half of Officials Found to Abuse Inmates Face No Legal Action: Many Keep Their Jobs

  • January 26, 2011

According to a study released today by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), even in substantiated cases of staff sexually abusing inmates, only half of the abusive officials were subject to any legal action. Indeed, 15 percent of confirmed staff abusers were allowed to keep their jobs. Such high levels of impunity are shocking considering

Time for Attorney General to Show Courage on Prisoner Rape

  • March 29, 2011

National Standards Represent Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity for Attorney General Eric Holder to End Sexual Abuse in U.S. Corrections Facilities Washington, DC, March 29, 2011. Next Monday (April 4, 2011) marks the end of the final public comment period on the Department of Justice’s proposed national standards to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse in detention.

Justice Department Hearings on Sexual Abuse in Prison

  • April 26, 2011

Review Panel on Prison Rape to hold hearings with best and worst performing prisons, highlighting that sexual abuse in detention is preventable — a matter of good management Washington, DC, April 26, 2011. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, at least 216,600 inmates were sexually abused in prisons, jails, and youth detention facilities in