Prison Rape Elim [PF]
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Coverage of the End Prison Rape Press Conference |
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 On August 17, a diverse collection of reformers and activists took part in a press conference in Washington, DC, calling on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to implement standards to reduce the occurrences of rape in our nation's prisons.
Media coverage of the press conference has been outstanding. Below is a small sample of the articles and opinion pieces written in response to the press conference and subsequent letter to Attorney General Holder. (For continuing coverage on the work of Prison Fellowship in the area of justice reform, please visit Justice Fellowship's Breaking News page.)
Janet Parshall's America
"No matter how terrible the crime, no prison sentence includes being raped," says Prison Fellowship Vice President Pat Nolan, a former federal prisoner who leads the organization's Justice Fellowship criminal justice reform program. In this radio interview, Pat talks about the urgency to eradicate sexual abuse in prisons and what his organization is doing to ensure safety and justice for the incarcerated.
CBN News
Groups from both left and right stood united on Capitol Hill over the rampant rate of rape in prison. Regardless of political persuasion, all agree the statistics are shocking.
That's why conservative groups like Prison Fellowship joined liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, Tuesday.
Religion News Service
Religious leaders and civil rights advocates are pressing the Department of Justice to implement national standards to help prevent an estimated 60,000 cases of prison rape each year.
Baptist Press
Pat Nolan, vice president of Prison Fellowship and a member of the commission that submitted the standards to Holder, told reporters that tens of thousands of inmates will be raped in the next year "because we haven't taken steps to prevent it. And that's -- that's a scandal. That's a stain on our national honor.
"The number of rapes in our facilities is preventable," Nolan said.
American Family News
Liberals and conservatives have united in calling for the U.S. attorney general to implement standards against a form of prison violence.
Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act in 2003, but even though standards were completed within 14 months, Attorney General Eric Holder has yet to implement them. The American Civil Liberties Union, Focus on the Family, and other religious and civil rights groups are accusing Holder of "dragging his feet" on adopting national standards to prevent rape in prisons.
World Magazine
A number of groups who couldn’t be more different are single-minded on eliminating prison rape. Prison Fellowship, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Family Research Council, Human Rights Watch, Focus on the Family, Sojourners, and others signed onto a letter Tuesday urging U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to implement new standards that would cut down prison rapes.
Black Voices
Pat Nolan, vice president of Prison Fellowship, argues that setting standards would be a good way to reduce the problem of prison rape. He mentions that increasing the lighting in prisons, screening staffers and having independent supervision of facilities can make a tremendous difference.
Huffington Post
Ending prison rape is a cause that brought together an unlikely group of organizations which are usually doing combat with each other. Leaders of groups from the left and right gathered to call attention to their letter which presses Attorney General Holder to speed up the process for adopting standards that will hold prison officials accountable for combating rape in prisons.
Huffington Post
"The fact that people are not safe in our prisons . . . is a scandal, that's a stain on our honor," said Pat Nolan, vice president of the Prison Fellowship and a former member of the independent commission.
Washington Post
Advocates for prison inmates on Tuesday accused Attorney General Eric Holder of "dragging his feet" on adopting national standards for preventing rape in prisons.
Justice Department statistics show that an estimated 4.5 percent, or 60,500 inmates, report being victims of sexual assault in federal prisons, said Pat Nolan, vice president of outreach program Prison Fellowship. It happens to almost 1 in 8 juveniles in custody.
The Hill (Washington, DC)
An odd coalition of religious groups, human-rights advocates and prison reformers is pushing the Obama administration to hurry new standards designed to eliminate rape in the nation’s prisons — standards that are already two months overdue.
"At this moment, standards to eradicate sexual assault in prisons await your approval," the groups wrote in an Aug. 2 letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. "We urge you to make a priority of completing your review and adopt the standards as swiftly as possible."
Christian Post
"My name is Marilyn Shirley. I'm a survivor of prison rape," the former inmate said
Shirley is one of tens of thousands of adults who suffered the traumatic experience of sexual abuse by a prison guard. The Texas woman recalled the nightmare in tears as she joined a broad coalition Tuesday, committed to ending rape in U.S. prisons.
CBS News
Advocates for prison inmates on Tuesday accused Attorney General Eric Holder of "dragging his feet" on adopting national standards for preventing rape in prisons.
Justice Department statistics show that an estimated 4.5 percent, or 60,500 inmates, report being victims of sexual assault in federal prisons, said Pat Nolan, vice president of outreach program Prison Fellowship. It happens to almost 1 in 8 juveniles in custody.
Everyday Christian
Prison Fellowship has partnered with other Christian and prison rights groups across the political spectrum to lobby Attorney General Eric Holder to adopt standards established out of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003. Nolan was part of the panel which put together a set of standards to help facilities from local jails up to federal prisons stem the tide of prison rape.
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