Torture in America's Prisons.

December 23, 2009 at 2:47 P.M. "Errors" were inserted and corrected in this previously posted essay. ("Another Mafia Sweep in New Jersey and Anne Milgram is Clueless.")

December 23, 2009 at 11:56 A.M. An advertisement was imposed on this site purporting to originate from "Ads by Google":

"Save Today on Jail Calls. Immediate Savings on Inmate Calls. Call (888) 728-2726 to save today! http://www.conscallhome.com/ " (Inmates seeking to speak to family members and lawyers are "funny" to the persons responsible for this advertisement, also -- perhaps -- for the "KFC ON THE WHITE HOUSE LAWN" images posted on-line, probably by the same people.) Cubanazos?

"Combating Prisoner Abuse," (Editorial) in The New York Times, December 21, 2009, at p. A30.
"Sentenced to Abuse," (Editorial) in The New York Times, January 15, 2010, at p. A26. (Children and young people routinely raped in the nation's prisons.)

"When Mississippi inmates sued their prison, charging that they had been sodomized by a staff member, the claim was thrown out. Under a harsh federal law, inmates must show that they suffered a 'physical injury' to prevail in a suit challenging cruel prison conditions. A federal district court ruled in 2006 that the alleged sexual assault did not constitute physical injury."

Women should note the potential scope of this dangerous precedent. Rape is not actionable for inmate-victims, according to this deeply flawed reasoning, because it does not constitute "physical injury." I cannot imagine any decision being more absurd or inaccurate. ("Anne Milgram Does it Again" and "Jaynee LaVecchia and Conduct Unbecoming to the Judiciary in New Jersey.")

"The Justice Department needs to act swiftly and decisively to protect young people who are being battered and raped [often by so-called "therapists"] in juvenile correction facilities all accross the country. [This is certainly common in New Jersey, where rapes are combined with sadistic tortures.] A shocking new study by the Justice Department Bureau of Justice Statistics surveyed more than 9,000 young people in custody and found that 12 percent" -- a gross underestimate -- "reported being sexually abused one or MORE times, mainly by staff members."

Diana, how often did you have sex with Marilyn? ("Deborah T. Poritz and Conduct Unbecoming to the Judiciary in New Jersey.")

"Particularly alarming, the study found several juvenile facilities where 30 PERCENT or MORE of the young people reported being raped."

China and Cuba have lower rates of sexual violation among inmates.

"Congress included the physical injury requirement in the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which it passed in 1996 to deter inmates from bringing frivolous lawsuits, and allow abusive and cruel mistreatment of inmates to go unpunished."
Nothing is less "frivolous" than rape. Nothing is more permanently scarring, paralyzing, wounding than rape of a man or woman. How is "physical injury" defined in the law? The editorial does not say. ("Sybil R. Moses and Conduct Unbecoming to the Judiciary in New Jersey.")

"Legislation introduced by Representative Robert Scott, Democrat of Virginia, would undo the worst parts of that law. Most important, [Scott's] legislation, The Prison Abuse Remedies Act, would remove the physical injury requirement. Prisons across the country have used this requirement to dismiss suits challenging all kinds of outrageous treatment: strip-searching of female prisoners by male guards; ["Foucault, Rose, Davis and the Meanings of Prison"] revealing to other inmates that a prisoner was HIV-positive; forcing an inmate to stand naked for 10 hours."

These are mild examples of common psychological tortures in American prisons -- most tortures of American inmates are much worse than these examples and lead to severe and life-long emotional damage. Men and women are victimized in Nazi-like fashion by persons wielding power in many correctional facilities who are usually addicted, sexually, to the cruelties that they impose. Occasionally, persons not charged with crimes are also tortured, usually secretly.

Under the circumstances, allegations concerning China's violations of human rights appear hypocritical coming from a nation responsible for Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo as well as hundreds of places like them within our national borders. ("Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture" and "What is it like to be tortured?")

This torture policy serves as a symbol and analogy to the way many persons in the world feel about their encounters with U.S. military power. Billions of men and women in the world feel victimized because they are powerless against American technology, like children in Pakistani villages exposed to "robot bombs." The "little brown people" are like women. They are things you use and discard -- at least this is true for many powerful "macho man-types" in the U.S. military and law enforcement. ("Why do they hate us?")

"Mr. Scott's bill would allow prisoners to prevail under the same conditions as plaintiffs in other kinds of civil rights cases. It would also make important changes in the 1996 law's 'exclusion' requirement, which forces inmates to bring their complaints to the prison's own grievance system before they can sue. ["inhumanity in America"] A carefully drawn exhaustion requirement could help resolve problems locally, and avoid unnecessary litigation. But the [procedure] in the current law lets prisons put up [administrative] hurdles that make it difficult or impossible for prisoners to navigate the bureaucracy and get their complaints heard in court."

This is a law that is likely to meet with the approval of New Jersey torturers. (Again: "Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture" and "What is it like to be tortured?")

"Juvenile inmates are not a significant source of frivolous lawsuits, but they are at increased risk of abuse in prison, expecially sexual abuse."

This is true for ALL women inmates who are in danger of sexual violation on a daily basis. What the hell, there is no "physical injury" resulting from mere rape -- according to our Republican friends. Many of these Republicans explain that "women enjoy being raped." ("Foucault, Rose, Davis and the Meanings of Prison.")
"The current House bill would remove all of the 1996 law's restrictions for suits brought by inmates under the age of 18."

"There are many problems with American prisons" -- which are classified as "inhumane" by some human rights organizations, like Amnesty International -- "including crowding, inadequate medical treatment and little opportunity for rehabilitation. Mr. Scott's bill addresses one that is less well-known, but no less real. The House should pass it, and the Senate should get to work on its own version."

I hope that Mr. Obama and Attorney general Eric Holder will support this legislation.