Comments on: Welcome to Texas, prison rape capital of the U.S.

By: John

John — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 05:53:01 +0000

The government officials and guards that are doing and allowing this ought to be thrown into concentration camps like Hiter did to the Jews. They’re not ever sorry but they will be when they are made into soap and buttons.

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 23:52:43 +0000

Prison officials with the tact consent of government employ homosexual rape as a means of both extra-judicial punishment and social control within the prison environment. Homosexual rape, while despicable, has been, and continues to be used, as a means of breaking down prisoners during interrogation/torture sessions. It is employed because it is effective and relatively safer than other means of torture, as less physical evidence is present to substantiate the torture and more importantly (for the torturer) the victims are often reluctant to admit to being raped.
That Texas is the prison rape capital of the U.S. should come as no surprise, for denials to the contrary, authoritarian and theocratic societies with an emphasis on masculinity (Turkey, Brazil, the U.S. “bible-belt”, et al.) are the worst offenders in this regard. Such things are virtually unheard of in the Scandinavian countries which are vastly more secular, less authoritarian and not so hung-up on hieratical masculine relationships. Sorry Texas — but one of the down-sides of being backward and ignorant is that you’re going to have more of this sort of thing. And conversely, probably why you have such good football teams — it’s a trade-off.

By: alexandria

alexandria — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:23:56 +0000

That is very scary.
What got my attention was the AIDS- thats pretty scary considering the Gatesville Central Texas area is not really all that big- its like a small town and with the way the law system seems to find anyway to get you arrested these days thats pretty scary! Keeping the public in poverty so they can’t leave – locking them up, releasing them so they can’t leave because they will never get a good job, and the AIDS spreads. Better wear your condoms!
The police and justice system are inhumane anymore. My friend thinks the mafia took over the system and this is the results.

By: Elissa Bell Bassett

Elissa Bell Bassett — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:40:24 +0000

This whole prison industry is inhumane.I am not Pollyanna-Yes we need to seperate dangerous criminals from society at large.
But ALL prisioners are humans and as suck deserve protection from predetors.
We are locking up a whole generation of people foe writing bum checks or other non violent crimes. The movie,Cool Hand Luke many years ago still hold a true point-Many sent into prison for something non violent(in his case it was lopping off the top of a parking meter),leads to a life in prison.Then they have their bread and butter to feed from! That was a movie,but I know people who have done time for something small and have it snoball into many years of offences,real or false,tagged on. They stay for years!This IS a business and We as human beings need to treat each case of rape the same as if it happened on the outside.What other business could get by with letting rapes happen in their facilities?And let’s stop locking up drug addicts and non violent offenders.It won’t solve all of the prison societies ills,but it will sure help…

By: John Wright

John Wright — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:38:25 +0000

@Gabriel: Those images were generated by Just Detention International, the advocacy group mentioned in the article, not Dallas Voice.

By: Edith

Edith — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:13:13 +0000

This article neglects to mention that Texas’ numbers are so high because (unlike some other states like California) every single report of sexual assault is filed regardless of evidence or how reasonable the statement is. What I mean by this is, correctional officers are required to file a statement even if the complaint is “I was raped by an alien from another planet last night.” On the other hand, California is required only to report if the complaint is able to be prosecuted.

Don’t get me wrong, terrible things happen in prison for both inmates and correctional officers and I am not trying to minimize the experiences of any of the individuals listed above because clearly they endured terrible, unbelievable amounts of pain and torture. There should definitely be strong protections and higher levels of standards for the follow through of those protections. I just wanted to shine a little light on those numbers.

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 21:18:02 +0000

I’m appalled to see that the Dallas Voice decided to portray Hispanics as the representation of Texas inmates on the photo illustration although the article never mentions anything about race. In 2011 the Texas Department of Criminal Justice released a report claiming that in Aug. 2010, out of the 142, 770 incarcerated males in Texas, 49, 936 were Hispanic, 56, 058 were Black, and 48, 026 White.

Source: http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/documents/Statistical_Report_2010.pdf

This attitude towards Latinos only shows a total lack of sensibility.

By: Carlo Caraluzzo

Carlo Caraluzzo — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 12:48:55 +0000

You know it is really funny that the people who are always telling the rest of America how upstanding and moral people are executes more people than the rest of the States put together and more than any nation. Murder is the ONLY alternative for Texans. 1 in 5 inmates in Texas prisons are convicted sex offenders, a ratio four times higher than any other State. So either Texas has more sexual deviants than any other State or it is far too easy to “prove” one of these crimes.
But consider this. Texas also has the lowest number of high school graduates in the nation and the highest number of minimum wage workers. They cannot pay their teachers enough to teach the kids but they CAN pay them enough to count the number of times Christianity and Islam each appear in text books!!!!
Between 1985 and 1995 the Texas prison population expanded by nearly 400%, yet the crime grew only 3%.
So here is a clue Texas. Try fixing the problem, instead of worrying about fixing the blame!!!! Your prison system is creating monsters!!!!

By: JunnieAiko

JunnieAiko — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 01:56:01 +0000

The useless TDCJ representatives should all be fking sued!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :’(

I’m in support that all violent criminals ought to be chemically castrated (and by chemical I meant SULFURIC ACID)!!! Blood is boiling after reading all that ~ Something ought to be done and implemented already.

By: chris steltzlen

chris steltzlen — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:45:38 +0000

Another facet of the pria act of 2003 was inmates using a rape accusation as a weapon against other inmates. I was a victim of such a circumstance. during consentual sex, we were caught, my partner of over a year was due to get out in 26 days. so rather than face the consequences of a sexual misconduct (30 days longer in prison)she accused me of rape. i spent 7 months in isolation, while they let her out the door in 26 days, 7 months in a 6×9 with no roommate and unallowed to spend my 1 hour outside the cell with other inmates because i was considered a rapist. my interpersonal relationships will never be the same even though im out now. i simply dont have the capacity to trust. oh and on her way out the door she left a note with the guards that said her whole statement was a lie. 6 months later i was released into general population but always carried the stigma of a rapest. this was a womens prison too. so my point? Theres lots of room for reform for accusers and the accused.