Deadline for States to Comply with Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Ends Today

Date:  05-15-2015 One state has made prison videos to alert people who are incarcerated to identify those who may be sexual predators

The Marshall Project posted two articles concerning the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). The first article gives a rundown on where each state is regarding PREA. The article reveals the lack of transparency in identifying how much, or how little, some states are doing to rid their prisons of acts of sexual violence. PREA takes states at their word that they are doingsomething to prevent rape, but does not require the states to go into great detail. Today marks the deadline for states to comply with prison rape laws. The results? More are, some may not be, and most just want an extension. By ALYSIA SANTO Governors across the country are on deadline today: May 15 is the final date for every state to report whether they are in compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), a 12-year-old law that established a set of standards to prevent the sexual abuse of inmates. The reports have been trickling in, and so far, seven governors have implemented all prison rape standards, according to the Department of Justice’s tally, which was last updated on Wednesday. Those states include Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, and Tennessee. It represents a small but significant uptick since 2014, when only two states, New Hampshire and New Jersey, certified compliance. The Justice Department has made information about 26 states available, and no states have yet to refuse to comply with PREA altogether; in 2014, six governors did not adopt the law and lost five percent of certain federal funds, the only penalty for noncompliance. One of those six governors was Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who wrote in a letter to the Department of Justice: “There is little empirical data showing these standards to be effective.” Pence changed course this year and issued an “assurance,” a promise that the state would work towards PREA compliance and would commit funds towards implementation. Read more. The other article posted by the Marshall Project reports how New York is attempting to eliminate prison rape by producing videos featuring actual people in prison telling people who are part of the prison orientation process how to spot a sexual predator among them. Watch the videos here.