As some may remember, I spearheaded the fight against Illinois prison rape starting in the mid-1990’s.
As this Chicago Tribune article points out, the problem still exists.
“A pair of Cook County Jail detainees are alleging sheriff’s deputies encouraged a third inmate to tie them up and sexually assault them at knifepoint after one of them complained about forced sexual encounters with a guard in the jail complex.
“The alleged misconduct is outlined in a lawsuit filed Thursday, which contends the attack came after one of the inmates had made a prior complaint about a nonconsensual sex with a female correctional officer.”
The death of David Horowitz and the defunding of the National Prison Rape Resource Center brought about by the bi-partisan coalition he put together to enact in 2013 the Prison Rape Elimination Act brought the topic back to my mind.
It is just a coincidence that the Tribune article showed up about the same time.
Spurred on by my unsuccessful efforts to pass laws to attack the prison rape problem in Illinois, Horowitz contacted me after I left off1ce asking for my support of the Federal legislation that passed in 2003.
That brought back the visit Randy Donaldson made to Illinois in support of my legislation.
Donaldson took part in a 1973 Quaker demonstration in front of the White House when Elliot Richardson quit the Nixon Administration in disgust.
Rather than paying the $10 bail, he was taken to prison when the guards put the young man in a cell where they knew he would be raped.
By the time of his mid-1990’s visit to our Crystal Lake home to spend the night, he explained he alternated drinking a bottle of alcohol with taking sleeping pills to get to sleep.
Donaldson wrote the major Friend of the Court brief upon which the prison rape decision Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994) was based.
Both Donaldson and Dr. Cindy Struckman-Johnson, the pre-eminent academic researcher on the subject testified before the House Judiciary Committee.
My legislative efforts succeeded in advancing a prison rape reform bill to the House floor, where, when I asked Mike Madigan if he had a problem with it, received a reply that he did not, but the bill died without being called for a vote as the passage deadline occurred.
But the publicity generated by my campaign certainly raised awareness, probably leading to Horowiz’ contacting me about his Federal crusade.
Now comes the Trump Administration defunding he National Prison Rape Resource Center, according to The Appeal.
Federal funding was made available to states to support efforts to prevent and eliminate prisoner rape between inmates in state and local prisons, jails, and police lockup facilities
The Appeal reports,
“When asked for comment, a DOJ spokesperson told The Appeal in an email that ‘discretionary funds that are no longer aligned with the administration’s priorities are subject to review and reallocation.’ The administration’s priorities are ‘prosecuting criminals, getting illegal drugs off of the streets, and protecting American institutions from toxic DEI and sanctuary city policies.’”
The action seems to say that Trump does not agree the purpose of prison is for inmates to serve time, but , rather, rape in prison is acceptable.
