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| We found one guard in
Florida who had something like four dozen complaints from different female
inmates. His accusers took and passed lie detector tests and PASSED! He
refused. |
Host GeraldoR_CNBC says: Hi everybody, thanks for dialing in. I just want to briefly give you the skinny on tomorrow’s special on women behind bars — 150,000 of them, most behind drug charges, most single moms who want desperately to be out. In many states, these women are guarded, frisked, watched in bed and the shower and every other intimate place by men. Many are being harassed, felt up and down, even raped. Three international human rights groups have criticized our country for turning our women’s prisons into peep shows and whorehouses. We heard about it through the UN, we investigated, and what we found is a national scandal. Now, your questions please. Host Chris_MSNBC says: Lucky_starzs says: How can one verify the accusations that are made. If someone disliked a guard couldn’t they make it up? Host GeraldoR_CNBC says: Sure they can make up the allegations. Inmates are among the most shifty and wily groups in our society. But when you do a rape kit on an alleged victim, and it’s obvious for all the world to see that she’s been done and bad, then you must take action. We found one guard in Florida who had something like four dozen complaints from different female inmates. His accusers took and passed lie detector tests and PASSED! He refused. He was fired and rehired three times before his supervisors finally figured out they had a pervert on the payroll. Host Chris_MSNBC says: Question from Steve: Do you believe that our prison and judicial system does enough to encourage reform for women who were battered by their spouses or mates but still convicted of crimes against them? Host GeraldoR_CNBC says: Absolutely not. We have become so law and order conscious in our country that we don’t give a damn about how inmates — female or male — are treated. I don’t mean to be so general, but we are without a doubt much more interested in safe streets than we are in humane prisons. I also am in favor of safe streets, but when a woman owes a debt to society, her loss of freedom should not be accompanied by a loss of the right to be free from rape. It doesn’t take an expert to know that when men guard women, some men are going to take advantage. Equal employment opportunity was not designed to allow these guys unfettered access to every woman ever tossed behind bars. Host Chris_MSNBC says: Question from iodine: How do you think we the people can get justice for these women in jail for non-violent crimes. Host GeraldoR_CNBC says: We can get justice by demanding justice. The solution is fairly simple. Get men out of the living areas of women’s prisons. Establish a hotline for female inmates to report allegations of abuse. If the allegations prove specious after objective, external investigation, then discipline the lying inmate. If the allegations bear merit, then immediately suspend the allegedly offending officer, and don’t hesitate to prosecute perverts just because they wear a badge and uniform.   To join an MSNBC chat, click here Host Chris_MSNBC says: Question from chloe: Geraldo, how many of our women’s prisons are guarded by male guards? Host GeraldoR_CNBC says: In at least 16 states men are the predominant guards over women. In about half the remainder, it’s fairly mixed. Only about a dozen (and these figures are only my best recollection) prohibit men from women’s living spaces. Host Chris_MSNBC says: Question from Brian: How can you possibly be so intent on smearing correctional officers, there are thousands that do a good job. Host GeraldoR_CNBC says: There is no doubt about that. The vast majority of corrections officers are law-abiding, etc., but there are enough complaints recorded now, not merely by our own Justice Department but also by three international watchdog groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations, for us to realize that the sexual abuse of women behind bars is the dirty little secret of the law and order movement. Host Chris_MSNBC says: Question from Holly: Do the administrators of these facilities really believe these women when they make charges or does media attention make the difference? Host GeraldoR_CNBC says: In far too many facilities the accusers are punished rather than the perpetrators. Figure it out. In most sex cases it is usually one person’s word against another’s. In jail, that often means a corrections officer’s against an inmate. Who do you think is going to be believed? In my special we found scores of cases where allegations were either dismissed or never investigated despite what seemed overwhelming evidence of sexual abuse. |
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  Florida Department of
Corrections Georgia Department of
Corrections Michigan Department of
Corrections  What's on
Geraldo |
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