NEW:

Incarceration Rape

Stop Prison Rape
by Dr. Christina J. Johns
Law, Power and Justice Syndicate

May 14, 2001

Interview with Cassandra Collins, Founder and Director of Freedom Alert, Incarceration Rape (FAIR). Cassandra was a victim of incarceration rape in Gadsden County, Florida. When she tried to get something done about what happened to her, she was told that even though sexual misconduct was illegal in state prisons, it was not covered in private prisons or county jails.

This bill, just passed by the Florida legislature, provides for the criminal prosecution of guards who have sexual relations with inmates, eliminates the defense of "consensual relations," and provides for criminal prosecution of those who cover-up or who fail to report sexual misconduct between guards and inmates. The bill also requires 2 additional hours of training for prison guards in sexual violence.

In this interview, Cassandra Collins talks about her experience in the Gadsden County Jail, her difficulties in getting anyone to prosecute her victimizer, her final appeal to the federal government and the eventual success in securing a conviction of her assailant and his incarceration.

The interview also covers the new law passed in Florida (the first law of its kind in the country), and Cassandra's personal struggle to come from jail inmate to expert lobbyist and private business owner.

For more on the subject, click here: http://www.igc.apc.org/spr
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