In its 2009 findings, the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission urged the Department of Justice to separate confined children from the adult population; on April 3, 2012, over 30 members of the U.S. House of Representatives asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to take the recommendations one step further.
In their letter, the House members point out that simple segregation of youth held in adult prisons is not enough, and will more than likely just lead to solitary confinement—a known danger to youth. “Standards that encourage the adoption of one dangerous practice as the solution to eliminating another do not reflect Congress’s intent in passing PREA [Prison Rape Elimination Act],” the members write. They support the addition of a rule to PREA that would prohibit the placement of youth under 18 years of age in adult jails and prisons.
PREA was enacted in 2003 and applies to all public and private institutions that house adult or juvenile offenders. It addresses both inmate-on-inmate sexual abuse and staff sexual misconduct.
» Read the full letter to Attorney General Holder
» Read a recent New York Times editorial on the PREA
Photo: JRandomF, under Creative Commons License.