After reading
“The
2 Strikes Law” article in ULK 49, where the Prison Rape
Elimination Act (PREA) was referenced, I decided to write the following
article about something that happened recently in this prison regarding
PREA funding.
Over the fall of 2015 and into the early winter of ’16 this prison
received more federal funding to implement PREA safeguards including the
following measures. Now every unit officer has to display and provide a
stack of pre-printed PREA cards with information on how and what to
report. The leading PREA investigative Lieutenant at this prison, Lt.
Carey, stands around the chow hall to randomly pull individuals over and
ask them: “If you are sexually assaulted, what will you do?” Looking for
the answer: “I will dutifully report it to you sir, of course.”
And every unit and building in this facility has had the restrooms and
showers reformed and renovated with large metal stalls and divides in
them built from the small welding shop here so that during the upcoming
PREA audit this smartass Lieutenant can show the public everything
they’ve done to make sure “inmates’” genitals aren’t in constant view of
each other or any staff that walk by a bathroom or shower.
This was after doorbell alarms were installed on every unit to alert
“indecent” prisoners as to whenever female staff entered a unit, to make
themselves decent and to not accidentally sexually assault them or
intentionally be exposed when they come around; i.e. when a female staff
comes onto a unit to relieve the duty officer and then does a “shower
check” to see who on the shower list is still naked and in there.
Although none of the female staff seem to enjoy having a bing-bong
doorbell ring every time they enter a housing unit, Lt. Corey personally
installed most if not all of them, with pride.
But the most scathing display and culmination of target-harassment for
generating PREA funding came in these early months of 2016. It’s not
female officers performing count at midnight, one, five o’clock in the
morning and ringing a door bell while prisoners are trying to sleep that
generated the imagined need for PREA awareness. It was this: DOC added
revisions to certain rules in this state on 5 January 2016, including
291-133: “Marriages and domestic partnership solemnization ceremonies
for inmates.” which states: “These revisions are necessary to update the
department’s policies and procedures regarding marriages and
solemnization ceremonies for prisoners in department facilities. The
rules will recognize same-sex marriages to reflect changes in state and
federal laws. The department will no longer transport inmates between
facilities for the purpose of participating in a marriage or
solemnization ceremony. Married or domestic partnership inmates who
reside in the same facility will not be housed in the same cell.
Here is also what happened in January 2016. From one of this prison’s
units approximately 15 prisoners were taken to segregation from the same
unit for alleged “sexual activity” and/or “unauthorized organization.”
They were all given 120s in seg. 120-day sanctions for the “unauthorized
organization” convictions and those who could have been were convicted
of “sexual activity” if they were “known homos” or even “suspected
homos” if their names were close enough on the shower log to have
communally showered together.
Many, or most, of the “known homos” and “suspected homos” were all
transferred to this unit in the late months of 2015, to set up this
target “unauthorized organization” and inevitable
communal-shower-sign-up. Many prisoners lost their prison jobs,
incentive levels, etc. for being a casualty of what the officer-pigs
refer to as 2016’s “Operation Fruit Roll-up.” All to bring more
necessity to the prison’s gathering of federal PREA funding for the
April audit.
PREA information has also now been blasted nonstop on the prison’s
“information and education” channel since January. When the prison
posted the 291-133: “Marriages and domestic partnership solemnization
ceremonies for inmates” memo on units in early January, the prison then
used that to say “unauthorized – organized” “suspected homos” thought it
was ok to come out, so we sent them all to segregation for 120 days and
set them up to be “identified homosexuals” for fellow prisoners and
staff to “watch out for.”
I was not an individual who was segregated and I do not identify as
homosexual, but other prisoners who were D-seged and other individuals
who weren’t, are too scared to associate with each other or stand up for
themselves for successive retaliatory target harassment of this sexual
nature. I am writing to bring attention to the korupt and disgusting
lengths these pigs will go to, to secure prison rape funding “just in
time” for the audit, but nobody is fooled.
This is one of the most disgusting and damaging pig setups I have
witnessed and likewise read about. But what now can be done?
MIM(Prisons) responds: This is a good example of the so-called
Prison Rape Elimination Act actually leading to more harassment and
gender oppression. We can’t rely on the oppressors to take action to
eliminate oppression. If we want to see an end to rape in prison,
prisoners must come together to build unity and peace, and protect one
another from any predatory or violent individuals. Of course the guards
have the power, and when they are the rapists it is very hard to fight
back. Even when the rapists are other prisoners, when this is sanctioned
or at the bidding of the guards, it becomes very difficult to fight. But
we will build far more peace and security through independent
institutions and organizing of the oppressed than will ever be achieved
by appeals to the administration or government for protection and new
rules and regulations.