Curbing Sexual Abuse in Immigration Detention

A few weeks back, the Obama Administration finally got around to releasing new regulations governing sexual abuse in correctional facilities, as mandated by the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003.  PREA initially only applied to DOJ facilities and agencies, but the Administration has expanded its scope to include immigrants in detention here in the US (mostly under the jurisdiction of ICE).  This is particularly relevant for the private prison industry, which houses about half of the immigration detainees in the US, though it remains to be seen how effective these new regulations will actually be in stopping sexual abuse.  ICE will have to draft rules and regulations to govern its facilities, but given all the problems ICE has had in ensuring the private prison companies it contracts with provide humane treatment to its detainees, I'm not overly optimistic that the oversight of efforts to stop prison rape will be any more stringent than for a host of other issues.  Especially considering the fact that CCA just recently finished battling a shareholder who wanted the company to report on its efforts to curb sexual assault in its facilities.

Ask CCA To Report on Sexual Assault

I just want to drop a quick link here and encourage everyone to go sign a petition on Change.org asking CCA to report on its efforts to reduce sexual abuse within its facilities.  Sexual abuse in prisons is a serious problem in both government and private facilities, so a CCA shareholder introduced a resolution asking the company to provide regular reports on the efforts it is taking to combat sexual assault and protect the prisoners it houses.  CCA initially objected to the resolution, but that objection was rejected by the SEC, so it now will move to a vote by all shareholders of the company.   Please go sign this petition.

Victory for Rape Victims in New Mexico

Just wanted to quickly update everyone on the trial in New Mexico regarding the rape of multiple women by a CO at a CCA prison in New Mexico.  As arguments closed, more lurid details emerged: the victims apparently had little-to-no access to grievance forms to voice their complaints, and even when they could fill out the forms, they were sometimes thrown away; the women were retaliated against for filing complaints; and other guards pretty much had to be complicit in the attacks to allow the CO to rape and assault the women out of the view of security cameras.

After a day of deliberation, the jury awarded $325,000 in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages for the victims.  This is a decision that CCA is almost certain to appeal, as they will likely try to pass on the liability for the damages to either the individual employees or the state of New Mexico.

"Raped, Stalked, Threatened, and Terrorized"

Those are the words used by an attorney representing one of a few women who were traumatized by their experience at a CCA prison to describe how an officer at the Camino Nuevo facility in New Mexico.  After being transferred, her client found the new facility completely unprepared to house prisoners; there were no programs, no guidelines for prisoners, and only a very short briefing before the women were locked down.  The lack of oversight allowed a guard, Anthony Townes, to rape 4 women in his tenure at the facility.  The abuse the women suffered caused them to fear retaliation so desperately that they did not speak out about the sexual assaults they endured for years.

Unfortunately, New Mexico houses more of its prisoners in private facilities than pretty much every other state, based on percentage of its population.  So there are thousands of other potential victims across the state.  But thankfully there are still some sane officials in the state; the County Manager for Eddy County, Allen Sartin, is one of them.  He refuses to permit a private company to operate the local detention center, despite the difficulty the county has encountered in trying to recruit corrections officers.  Having previous experience in a county that did contract out services to a private company, he recognizes that using private prisons "opens the door for more lawsuits."

They Rapin' Errbody Up in Here

To borrow a line from Antoine Dodson.  Forgive me for making light of the situation in the title, but two CCA officers are currently facing charges of rape in separate incidents.

In Florida, a guard is on trial for allegedly raping a fellow employee who was suffering an asthma attack.  Meanwhile, over in New Mexico, a trial against a corrections officer who has admitted to raping 4 women under his watch at the Camino Nuevo Women's CF in 2007 has been delayed as CCA tries to buy more time to mount a defense.

Once again, these shining examples of private prison professionalism give us a glimpse into what happens when profit is a higher priority than providing quality service.