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1) The document discusses the unequal treatment of male and female prison staff who engage in sexual misconduct with inmates. While both are legally considered to have committed sexual assault against inmates, female staff tend to receive more lenient punishments compared to male staff. 2) It notes that of 133 Texas prison employees involved in sex charges between 2000-2014, 79% received plea deals where their convictions were cleared after meeting court conditions, and only 9 were jailed. 3) The author argues that all staff, regardless of gender, should receive equal and harsher punishments for sexual misconduct. Inmates are a protected class and cannot legally consent to sexual acts with staff.

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65 views

Position Draft

1) The document discusses the unequal treatment of male and female prison staff who engage in sexual misconduct with inmates. While both are legally considered to have committed sexual assault against inmates, female staff tend to receive more lenient punishments compared to male staff. 2) It notes that of 133 Texas prison employees involved in sex charges between 2000-2014, 79% received plea deals where their convictions were cleared after meeting court conditions, and only 9 were jailed. 3) The author argues that all staff, regardless of gender, should receive equal and harsher punishments for sexual misconduct. Inmates are a protected class and cannot legally consent to sexual acts with staff.

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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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You are on page 1/ 9

The Unfair Consequences for Female

Correctional Staf
Involved in Prison Sexual Misconduct
(P.S. Its Not What You Think)
By Amelia Jack, ENGL 2010, Summer 2015, Position

In June of 2015, online and printed media were buzzing with news of a prison
tailor who had helped two upstate New York maximum-security prison inmates
escape. She is 51 year old Joyce Mitchell, and she later pled guilty to her role in the
prison break. She admitted to having sexual relationships with both of the inmates,
Richard Matt and David Sweat. She stated, I enjoyed the attention, the feeling that
both of them gave me and the thought of a diferent life.i After a three-week long
manhunt, Richard Matt was shot and killed and David Sweat was captured and
returned to prison.

David Sweat, Joyce Mitchell, Richard Matt

I enjoyed the attention,


the feeling that both of
them gave me and the
thought of a different
life. Joyce Mitchell

Joyce Mitchell remains in jail with a $200,000 bond, which she cannot aford to
pay, while she awaits her sentencing. She pled guilty to the charges of, promoting
prison contraband, a first-degree felony, and criminal facilitation, a fourth-degree
misdemeanor.iii But what about the sexual assault of the two inmates? Due to the
laws against sexual conduct between prison staf and inmates, she was guilty of
sexual victimization as well. By legal definition, she raped those inmates.

Does that description of Joyce Mitchells intimate


relationships with the two inmates sound exaggerated
or too severe? Does it shock you? If so, lets discuss why
that might be.

Generally, societys view of sexual assault involves an intimidating male


perpetrator and a weak female victim. A woman is rarely seen as being capable of
carrying out a sexual assault. It goes against our conceptions of the stereotypical
roles for who holds the power in male/female relationships. The definition of sexual
victimization according to The Department of Justice is, All types of sexual activity,
e.g., oral, anal, or vaginal penetration; hand jobs; touching of the inmates buttocks,
2

thighs, penis, breasts, or vagina in a sexual way; abusive sexual contacts; and both
willing and unwilling sexual activity with staf.iv Notice in the last line, it states that
both willing and unwilling sexual activity with staf is considered sexual victimization.
In fact, according to US Federal law, an inmate cannot give consent for any type of
sexual behavior with correctional facility stafv, thereby making the staf member the
perpetrator and the inmate the victim in every instance. The law doesnt diferentiate
between male or female correctional staf. Any sexual contact between staf and an
inmate is sexual victimization because the inmate is a protected class and cannot
legally give consent. It is, by legal definition, rape.

vi

Since the law doesnt diferentiate between male and female staf, both are
considered the perpetrators of the crime, would it surprise you to find out that they
are not treated equally when it comes to their punishments? According to Alysia
Santo, a writer for The Marshall Project, who recently published, Preying on
Prisoners, describes in that article how female staf have become much more
common in prisons and how they are involved in two-thirds of every sexual
misconduct case. However, prosecuting them is trickier. According to Mark Edwards,
Executive Director of the Special Prosecution Unit, I would probably hold a male
[officer] who has sex with a female inmate a little more accountable than I would a
female [officer] having sex with a male inmate, said Edwards. Its a double
standard, but Im sort of old school I guess. This illustrates my point exactly:
because women are not seen as the typical perpetrator of sexual crimes, they are
held less accountable than their male counterparts. Why is this when the law makes
no distinction between them? Cant this be considered a form of sexism

Sexism: behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster


stereotypes of social roles based on sexvii
3

I find it very interesting that even in the well-known Merriam Webster


Dictionary, the definition of sexism contains the note, especially: discrimination
against women. Typically, sexism is known to favor men and disadvantage women.
However, I would argue that any sex that is given an advantage over the other in the
same situation could be considered sexism. Just because, as in this case, the woman
involved is being favored, does not make the disparity between how the sexes are
treated any less unequal. Ms. Santo presented this idea on the NPR broadcast of The
Takeaway, hosted by John Hockenberryviii, where she discussed her article. Not only
is the control heavily in favor of the staf members in sexual victimization cases, but
also female staf members are even more favored in these situations. The typical
stereotype of a weak female being overpowered by an intimidating male needs to be
tossed out. Each case needs to be considered individually and there needs to be a
No Tolerance policy for any staf sexual misconduct, where each staf member is
given the same sentence, regardless of their sex. Not only that, but there needs to be
harsher punishments in general for staf members who abuse their authority in this
way.

According to Ms. Santos article (from which the above graphic was taken), and
the cases recorded in the Texas justice system, very few staf members are actually
prosecuted for
sexual victimization of inmates. Of the 133 Texas prison employees who were
involved in sex charges involving inmates between 2000 and 2014, 79% received
deferred adjudication, a plea deal where a defendant's convictions are cleared from
their record after court conditions are met. ix Only 9 of the 133 were jailed. Losing
their jobs was the harshest punishment the majority of them received.

This is morally wrong.


Why do we, as a society, condemn rapists in general, yet when the victim is an
inmate, we dont even question it? Do we believe they deserve it as further
punishment for their crimes? Do we not see them as human beings with the same
rights of protection as the rest of us? They are considered a protected class that
cannot give consent for a reason. They are at the mercy of the authorities over them.
Shannon K Fowler and her fellow researchers published a study titled, Would They
Officially Report and In-Prison Assault? An Examination of Inmate Perceptions, x
where she detailed how many sexually victimized inmates are too afraid to come
forward and report the abuse for fear of retaliation, shame, or the disbelief of their
superiors. They dont know their rights, and that any sexual touching is considered
sexual misconduct. We need to change the way we consider sexual assault in prison.
It should not be an accepted part of prison life. We should not make jokes about
dropping the soap in the shower. President Obama recently spoke on this subject.
He stated, We should not be tolerating rape in prison, and we shouldnt be making
jokes about it in our popular culture.xi These inmates are human beings and not
matter their crimes, they do not deserve to be sexually violated, especially by the
staf members they put their trust in.

(Prison rape) is no joke. These things are


unacceptable.
President Barack Obama, NAACP Convention, July 14, 2015

In 2003, Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act and it led to studies
and initiatives to step up the measures against sexual victimization in Prison. In
2012, the Department of Justice released a statement when they announced a set of
new national standards, which is as follows:

For too long, incidents of sexual abuse against incarcerated


persons have not been taken as seriously as sexual abuse
outside prison walls, the department said in a release
announcing the standards. In popular culture, prison rape is
often the subject of jokes; in public discourse, it has been at
times dismissed by some as an inevitable or even deserved
consequence of criminality. But sexual abuse is never a
laughing matter, nor is it punishment for a crime.xii
These standards call for better education of inmates and prison staf on what is
considered sexual assault and who is to blame when it occurs, as well as easier
reporting for inmates, creating a safe environment in which to report, and a zero
tolerance policy for misconduct.
Our society needs to change how we stereotype gender roles. We need to treat
everyone equally, whether it gives a person an advantage or a disadvantage
according to his or her traditionally perceived roles. We need to modernize our
thinking to match the shift in culture we have experienced. No person, male or
female, should be given preferential treatment, especially when it comes to
punishing his or her crimes. Our system needs fundamental changes also. The new
national standards are a step in the right direction. We just need public perceptions
to catch up.

Should we feel sorry for Joyce Mitchell?


Was she caught up in the inmates fantasy and taken advantage of? No. She
was the perpetrator in these crimes. She had a position of authority and control over
these Richard Matt and David Sweat. She had the ability to prevent the relationships
from developing as well as to report any attempts to engage in sexual acts by the
6

inmates. She may have been, swept of her feet a bit,xiii but it was within her power
to not only stop the inappropriate relationships, but prevent the inmates prison
escape as well. She was able to bargain with the prosecution and get the serious
charges of conspiracy to commit murder and sexual misconduct dismissed. She will
only receive a sentence of between 2 and 7 years. So no, dont feel sorry for Joyce
Mitchell. Shes practically walking away scot free.

Sources and References:

i www.TheStar.com, 7-29-2015 Article, New York Prison Worker Says She Got
Caught Up in Escape That Included Sex Acts
ii http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2015/06/joyce-mitchell-husband-todayinterview/
iii http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/29/nyregion/joyce-mitchell-prison-workerpleads-guilty-to-aiding-murderers-escape.html?_r=0
iv United States. Dept. of Justice. Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails
Reported By Inmates 2011-12. May 2013. Web. 15 July 2015
v US Federal Law 18 U.S.C. 2241, 2243, and 2244
vi http://feministing.com/2012/08/28/rape-is-not-sex/
vii Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/sexism
viii Hockenberry, John. The Hidden Problem of Prison Sexual Abuse. The
Takeaway, 17 June 2015. Web. 15 July 2015.
ix Santo, Alysia. Preying on Prisoners. The Marshall Project.org. 2015.
Web. 15 July2015. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/06/17/preying-onprisoners
x Fowler, Shannon K. et al. Would They Officially Report an In-Prison
Assault? AnExamination of Inmate Perceptions. The Prison Journal. 90.2
(2010): 220-243. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 July 2015.
xi https://www.yahoo.com/politics/president-obama-prison-rape-is-no-joke124157225836.html
xii https://www.yahoo.com/politics/president-obama-prison-rape-is-no-joke124157225836.html
xiii Stephen Johnston, Joyce Mitchells lawyer

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