Prison Rape Elimination Act: Implications for Sheriffs (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Legislation, 2006
At the dawn of the twenty-first century, a wound that had been festering in American corrections finally received examination and treatment. For decades, there had been reports of the "[c]ruel and [u]sual"I punishment of prisoner rape which had broken forth in the national media and in scholarly journals, raising the alarm about what some called "America's most ignored crime problem." 2 In 1996, Struckman-Johnson, Struckman-Johnson, Rucker, Bumby and Donaldson reported that twenty-two percent of Nebraska's mal prisoners were the victims of sexual pressuring, attempted sexual assault or completed rapes 3 and that one in ten prisoners were victims of a completed rape. 4 Human Rights Watch decried the sexual abuse of women in state prisons in the United States. 5 The National Institute of Corrections also initiated a training program to address staff sexual misconduct that same year. 6 Ironically,
Promise Amid Peril: PREA\u27s Efforts to Regulate an End to Prison Rape
2020
This Article discusses the modest aspirations of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (“PREA”) that passed unanimously in the United States Congress in 2003. The Article posits that PREA created opportunities for holding correctional authorities accountable by creating a baseline for safety and setting more transparent expectations for agencies’ practices for protecting prisoners from sexual abuse. Additionally, the Article posits that PREA enhanced the evolving standards of decency for the Eighth Amendment and articulated clear expectations of correctional authorities to provide sexual safety for people in custody
2006
At the dawn of the twenty-first century, a wound that had been festering in American corrections finally received examination and treatment. For decades, there had been reports of the "[c]ruel and [u]sual" [FN1] punishment of prisoner rape which had broken forth in the national media and in scholarly journals, raising the alarm about what some called "America's most ignored crime problem." [FN2] In 1996, Struckman-Johnson, Struckman-Johnson, Rucker, Bumby and Donaldson reported that twenty-two percent of Nebraska's male prisoners were the victims of sexual pressuring, attempted sexual assault or completed rapes [FN3] and that one in ten prisoners were victims of a completed rape. [FN4] Human Rights Watch decried the sexual abuse of women in state prisons in the United States. [FN5] The National Institute of Corrections also initiated a training program to address staff sexual misconduct that same year. [FN6] Ironically, *143 however, until 1999 "sexual abuse of prisoners by correctional officials was not even a criminal offense in 14 states." [FN7]
Confronting America's most ignored crime problem: the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, 2003
Prisoner sexual assault has plagued American corrections since its infancy in the 19th century. Although the incidence of prisoner sexual assault is unknown, recent studies reliably suggest the problem is widespread, often affecting the most vulnerable prisoners. The mental health and public health consequences, both within institutions and the community, are complex and devastating, requiring comprehensive intervention and treatment. These crimes have been largely ignored by correctional managers, compromising the safety and security of correctional institutions. The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 could play a vital role in managing a national scandal.
National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC) Report
2009
Commissioner Brenda V. Smith Commissioner Brenda V. Smith is a Professor at American University’s Washington College of Law, where she teaches community and economic development law, legal ethics and women, and crime and law. Her research interests center on women in conflict with the law and on sexual abuse of individuals in custody. Professor Smith is also Project Director and Principal Investigator for the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Corrections Cooperative Agreement on Addressing Staff Sexual Misconduct with Offenders. She is an expert on issues affecting women in prison, a topic about which she has widely published and spoken. Before her appointment to the faculty of the Washington College of Law, Professor Smith was Senior Counsel for Economic Security at the National Women’s Law Center. She has also served as the Director of the Center’s Women in Prison Project and its Child and Family Support Project. Professor Smith earned her Bachelor of Arts from Sp...
Prison Rape Elimination Act Litigation and the Perpetuation of Sexual Harm
2014
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) is perhaps the most significant law reform project undertaken on U.S. prison issues in the twenty-first century. In the decade since PREA was enacted, it has been invoked by both plaintiffs and defendants and mentioned in hundreds of opinions, even though PREA does not create a private right of action or affirmative defense. This article provides the first scholarly analysis of the role of PREA in prison litigation. The author argues that courts have addressed PREA in ways that have disserved prisoners and contributed to the perpetuation of sexual harm.The article first provides background on PREA and on the constitutional and statutory standards that govern most claims related to sexual abuse in detention. Second, it describes and analyzes the key ways in which PREA has failed prisoners. Third, it lays out proposals for judicial approaches to PREA that would make better doctrinal and normative sense than current trends, including using PREA to...
Implementing The Prison Rape Elimination Act: A Toolkit for Jails
2013
The Moss Group acknowledges the assistance of the following professional associations and networks in developing this Toolkit: the American Jail Association, the National Institute of Large Jail Network, and the American Correctional Association. Many corrections professionals assisted in the planning, drafting, editing, and review of this Toolkit. Their contribution to the field is greatly appreciated.
The Prison Journal, 2009
This study examines the attitudes and beliefs of U.S. state prison wardens toward prison rape since the implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), signed into law in 2003. PREA mandates a zero-tolerance policy for sexual assaults within correctional systems and requires comprehensive collection of national data on prison rape and sexual assault. Prison wardens play a key role in the implementation and enforcement of prison policies and it is important to assess their attitudes and beliefs toward prison rape. To date, there has been only one study conducted that examines wardens' attitudes toward prison sexual assault, and it was completed before the implementation of PREA. It found that a majority of the wardens surveyed reported that their prison rape and sexual assault policies were considerably less effective than staff training and increased inmate supervision. The current study replicates the prior study in a post-PREA environment.