Human Rights Watch has issued a report on male-on-male prison rape in American prisons. As part of their research they solicited mail from prisoners. The following letter is the one they chose to open their report. Hat tip to Chrisopher Hayes.
I’ve been sentenced for a D.U.I. offense. My 3rd one. When I first came to prison, I had no idea what to expect. Certainly none of this. I’m a tall white male, who unfortunately has a small amount of feminine characteristics. And very shy. These characteristics have got me raped so many times I have no more feelings physically. I have been raped by up to 5 black men and two white men at a time. I’ve had knifes at my head and throat. I had fought and been beat so hard that I didn’t ever think I’d see straight again. One time when I refused to enter a cell, I was brutally attacked by staff and taken to segragation though I had only wanted to prevent the same and worse by not locking up with my cell mate. There is no supervision after lockdown. I was given a conduct report. I explained to the hearing officer what the issue was. He told me that off the record, He suggests I find a man I would/could willingly have sex with to prevent these things from happening. I’ve requested protective custody only to be denied. It is not available here. He also said there was no where to run to, and it would be best for me to accept things . . . . I probably have AIDS now. I have great difficulty raising food to my mouth from shaking after nightmares or thinking to hard on all this . . . . I’ve laid down without physical fight to be sodomized. To prevent so much damage in struggles, ripping and tearing. Though in not fighting, it caused my heart and spirit to be raped as well. Something I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself for.
That certainly has some deterrent effect. It hammers home for me why I should obey the law and avoid prison. However, giving someone HIV and subjecting them to rape, assault, and torture is inhumane, it’s illegal, it’s immoral, and, in this case, it is completely incommensurate with the offense. It’s appalling what goes on in our prisons. I saw another piece on American prisons on 60 Minutes last night. A prisoner with mental problems was allowed to die of thirst in a Michigan prison. They were strapping him to his bed for 18 hours a day. They caught his death on tape.
[…] in this case, it is completely incommensurate with the offense.
Exactly what offense would repeated gang rape be commensurate with?
None. But his even being in a prison with hardened criminals in the first place seems questionable. His offense is related to substance dependency.
Thanks for speaking up for people who most prefer to ignore – or figure they have it coming to them. I’ve never thought prison rape jokes are funny, but I am going to make more of an effort to say so in real time.
Wasn’t there some connection between guards who at Abu Ghraib and American prison guards? My mind is foggy.
Specialist Charles Graner. He was in the Marine Corps for 13 years and never rose higher than Corporal. Then he went into the Army and never rose higher than Spc 4, which is the equivalent of Corporal. Actually he rose higher, but kept getting busted down for violations, because he’s a dirt bag. He became a civilian prison guard, and was disciplined for… wait for it… abusing inmates. While serving at Abu Ghraib, he was fraternizing w/ Lindy England and impregnated her. He was court martialed and found guilty for offenses at Abu Ghraib, along with his baby mommy.
This all from memory, btw. I don’t feel like fact checking it so take it for what it’s worth.
The American prison system really sucks. It is probably the worst in the world. Even third world countries, with all its problems are so much better, so more humane. It realy blows my mind.
Thanks for giving this report publicity, Booman. Our prison system is a national shame that is much too easily ignored.
It just makes you think: the state of our prisons, the aggressive militarism of our foreign policy, the fact that Bush was reelected despite his clear incompetence and mendacity (even if you think he didn’t win Ohio, he still got about half the vote). The problems that we want to change aren’t just due to a few “bad” republicans. There are deep within our culture and our nation’s psyche. The question is: what will it take to tip this country towards its better nature?
Corporations use prison labor and prisons are highly profitable. I believe that last statistic I saw was 1 out of 36 Americans are in prison.
Major felonies go unpunished in prison, such as rape, yet what got them in there is usually a lesser crime.
The sad part is the number of people who seriously laugh at such things or even endorse the idea of prison rape as a deterrent. I have no doubt that many or most of the people in these prisons are complete scumbags and sociopaths. However, to allow even the worst of criminals to fester in such conditions is inhuman.
In my opinion, the criminal justice system is one of the best ways to see the values of a society. It’s amazing to see the Talibaptists line up with the Chinese and Islamic fundamentalists on the issue of capital punishment and prisoner treatment. A civilized society should treat those in its care with a fundamental level of decency, regardless of whether they deserve it or not. A true test of character is how you treat someone when you can get away with any sort of behaviour. Right now, US prisons are a third-world embarassment.
That being said, I think one of these institutions would be a good place to throw Bush, Cheney, et all when they are convicted of high crimes, if only to reap what they have sown.
I’m sure that since the Christian Right is so vociferously opposed to consensual sodomy, that they would consider rape-sodomy beyond the pale. Some leader of the Christian Right will carry the torch for these abused citizens. Right?
right wingnuts believe in punishing people– for offenses large or small– it doesn’t matter, particularly if you are poor or middle class.
exceptions for the wealthy, of course, are allowed.
if a guy gets gang raped in prison– “oh well, he shouldn’t be there in the first place”, or, “he deserves it”.
The deterrent effect you talk about doesn`t mean much for many people in there by mistake, for example. Anyone protesting too much in prison may be seen by some, as an easy mark, as someone who can`t take it.
I was in prison with some pretty bad dudes & if you show any kind of fear or lack of self-confidence, you`re tagged as a victim. The only time it takes before such a person is victimized, is the time it takes for one brute to victimize another brute, so he can get to the prize first. There is also a “crime ladder” which determines if you will be a victim of abuse in prison. If the crime you have been convicted of , could have harmed a prisoner`s family, outside of prison, watch out. In that category, in order of being targeted is, child abuse, spousal abuse, drunk driving, [ prisoners`children are coming & going to school] & so on, where the worst offense would be if you were a cop who abused his child & beat his wife while drunk. Here in California, they have to export prisoners, because they`re running out of room. The new business is building private jails, where there is little oversight, in states that have even less & who need the economic boost. Don`t ever think that reading about prison will ever be a deterrent for not ending up there. The people living in cell blocks in Texas with their kids, is an example of abuse of authority. The higher they build the prison walls the less you`ll be able to see what goes on inside them. Beware all. You may be next. As for any one who talks of prison rape as funny, remember it coud be your brother, father, or maybe even you. [disclaimer: I never harmed any one in there, nor did I allow any one to harm me]. I feel sorry for that person along with all the other people on this earth that are being abused, not by their own doing. Please remember the little girl, raped & torched, in the prison bush made for her, then let the dogs loose.
the thirty or so major problems our incompetent congress has not dealt with in the last twenty years– this is one of them.
A person with DUI convictions should never have been in that type of facility.
That’s why I never miss the chance to point out exactly how unfunny prison rape jokes are.
If the nature of society is best exhibited by how it runs its prisons, then we are some sick mofos. This issue is so painful, it’s hard to even think about. But the fact is our system packs our prisons with people undeserving of such treatment. Prisons are living hells that are designed to ensure return even in the event of release. Why do we pack our prisons and poison their inmates? Who benefits?
Prison maintenance and construction brings jobs and money to an area, perhaps, but what it really brings is a large captive workforce compelled to work for a few cents an hour. A good prison job pays $0.35 per hour in California. They make molded plastic and metal products, answer support telephone calls, you name it. Given how cheap that labor pool is for Capital (YOU pay for the food, healthcare, lodging and security, they pay the 35 cents), is it any wonder that the pro-prison lobby is massively well funded in comparison to prisoner-rights or reform-over-enprisonment lobbies. Is it any wonder the drug war continues even though the billions spent have done little but support high drug prices and fill prisons? 3 strikes laws?
Everyday YOU pay for people to be raped into submission to a slave labor system. Yes, you really do.
Perhaps it is a time for a tax revolt, or better yet, the politicians worst nightmare: line item, pay-as-you-go taxation. Imagine being able to prioritize how your individual taxes are to be spent. Fund the schools, defund the war, etc. At least then our role will be expanded from just sitting back and being compelled to fund all this garbage.
i’ve never been in prison, nor am i a lawyer, but i’ve long wondered about the merits of a class-action suit on behalf of prison inmates, charging the prison system with violating the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
given that gang rape is virtually guaranteed, it becomes a de facto part of every convict’s sentence. but if this reality were to be officially acknowledged by the state and honestly recorded as an element of the sentence (“the court finds defendant aarrgghh guilty and hereby sentences the defendant to 10 years of rape and torture in prison …”), such a ruling would without question be judged unconstitutional.
the correctional conveyer-belt would of course grind to a halt, but i think there’s been a long-standing live-wire constitutional issue worth investigating that absolutely no one wants to touch, not the least because it concerns people whom most would prefer to forget.