McHenry County Blog

I’m getting into the new prison rape regulations filed about a year late by the Obama Justice Department and found the first loophole.

It’s a big one.

I’ll quote the part that certainly was not written by people who want to minimize rape in prison:

Some may see the light at the end of the tunnel in this paragraph. Others may see a hole big enough to drive two Mack Trucks through.

“Notably, the standards are generally not outcome-based [emphasis added], but rather focus on policies and procedures.

“While performance-based standards generally give regulated parties the flexibility to achieve regulatory objectives in the most cost-effective way, it is difficult to employ such standards effectively to combat sexual abuse in confinement facilities, where significant barriers exist to the reporting and investigating of such incidents.

“An increase in incidents reported to facility administrators might reflect increased abuse, or it might just reflect inmates’ increased willingness to report abuse, due to the facility’s success at assuring inmates that reporting will yield positive outcomes and not result in retaliation.

“Likewise, an increase in substantiated incidents could mean either that a facility is failing to protect inmates, or else simply that it has improved its effectiveness at investigating allegations.

“For these reasons, the standards generally aim to inculcate policies and procedures that will reduce and ameliorate bad outcomes, recognizing that one possible consequence of improved performance is that evidence of more incidents will come to light.”

AP wrote a story about the Obama Administration's Title IX campus rape regulations Sunday.

Eric Holder begins his introductory remarks to U.S. Justice Department web site readers with this statement:

“The primary mission of the United States Department of Justice is to do justice.

“Our only responsibility it to do the right thing.”

If Holder really believes that why has he not met the statutory deadline for issuing rape in prison regulations.

The deadline was June 23, 2010.

It’s almost two years later.

In June of 2009, proposed regulations were made public.

There was a comment period.

It’s long over.

The Washington City Newspaper had an article covering a Jue 23, 2010 press conference by Lovisa Stannow, Just Detention International (previously called Stop Prison Rape) Executive Director.

Naturally, she decried that day’s missed deadline.

It’s now almost two years later.

A former white collar criminal from a Colorado prison also spoke.

Let me show you the part about him:

“Scott Howard-Smith, a survivor of sexual abuse while incarcerated on theft and tax code violation charges, also shared his story on the call.

“‘The attacks that I suffered were devastating,’ said Howard-Smith, who detailed how a white supremacist gang in his Colorado prison ‘raped, assaulted, and extorted’ him in an attempt to convince him to commit fraud on their behalf.

“The abuse didn’t stop with fellow inmates.

“‘My efforts to report were often fruitless,’ Howard-Smith says.

“Corrections officers refused to help him unless he identified all of his assailants by name and detailed their illegal activities, a move Howard-Smith thought would have put him at greater risk in the facility.

“Other officials informed Howard-Smith that ‘as a homosexual I should expect to be targeted by one gang or another,’ while refusing to offer him added protections.”

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder

(Virginia U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf seems to be the main pushing Holder. He and other need to push more.)

Another part of President Barack Obama’s administration, the U.S. Department of Education, did manage to promulgate regulations against sexual assault on college and university campus.

An Associated Press article on Sunday, May 22, 2012, reported on that.  (Can’t find the Sun-Times link, but here’s the one to the USA Today story.)

That version reports,

“…as Title IX is now interpreted…colleges must respond if a sexual assault is reported, even if prosecutors refuse to get involved.

“Moreover, they face often precise instructions from the government for conducting their investigations and proceedings, and even the standard of proof to use.”

Now, why would the Obama folks go after rape in college, but not in prison?

Could it be because college coeds can vote and most prisoners can’t?

The Daily Herald has a story about an audacious rape by a 16-year old of a 15-year old girl, not once, but three times in a Barrington High School stairwell.

Barrington High School. Photo credit: Wikipedia.

“’The high school has an extensive video surveillance system and campus attendants who regularly monitor student behavior throughout the 72-acre, 570,000-square-foot complex,’ [District 220 Superintendent Tom] Leonard wrote.

“’Unfortunately, cameras and attendants cannot be focused everywhere at once. The brief encounters did not disrupt or attract attention and allegedly occurred in two secluded stairwells at the high school, just beyond the view of video cameras,’” reports the Daily Herald.

From letters and testimony during the 1990′s about sexual assaults in Illinois prison, I know it occurs.

I also know that the Illinois Department of Corrections could greatly diminish such demonstrations of dominance by installing cameras.

When I had DOC cost it out, the price was $11-12 million.

Never enough money, naturally.

And DOC really doesn’t care about prisons having sex in prison.

Some of the victims are so cowed by threats that the sex acts appear to be consensual.

So, it seems obvious neither Illinois’ so-called “Correctional Centers” nor Barrington High School have enough protection for their wards.

And, come to think of it, high schools have a lot more in common with jails than rapists.

The email read, “Here’s a picture of the convicted IL governor’s first night in prison of his 14 year sentence. Gosh! They make a handsome couple!”

A cartoon sent to me from out-of-state after disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was incarcerated in Colorado. "They call me Rod, too," the larger inmate with his hand on Rod's arm says.

As those who have followed my 1990′s political career, my social conscious cause of that decade was stopping rape in prison.

The latest newsletter from Just Detention International, which used to be called Stop Prison Rape, has the headline you see below:

Headline of an article in the Just Detention International March newsletter.

Joking may have ended at the prison, but the cartoon above indicates that those on the outside still joke about rape in prison.

In 2003, the Prison Rape Elimination Act was passed.

Unanimous consent.

President George W. Bush signed the bill.

A commission was formed which held hearings and made recommendations.

These were submitted to the United States Department of Justice.

Regulations were put out for public comment. People, including yours truly, did so.

Since then, President Barack Obama’s Justice Department has done nothing.

The regulations were supposed to have been issued by Eric Holder last summer.

One of the Congressmen who pushed the bill through the House, Frank Wolf (R-VA), commented,

“I’ve talked to people who have been raped in prison. [PREA] passed in 2003.

“It was signed by President Bush.

“This was one of the few times I ever went to the Oval Office for a bill signing — because I cared about it. That’s nine years.

“There have been a lot of bad things that have happened to a lot of people during that period of time.

“We really have to finish this thing.”

I know nothing counts for the White House but winning the next election, but it’s time to promulgate the regulations.

And it’s time to stop joking about rape in prison.

And, no, this is not an April Fool’s joke.

"Shawshank Redemption" star Tim Robbins in the prison yard.

Dennis Miller was not optimistic about the future of former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

He called him “BlagojeFISH.”

As many of you may know, my legislative social conscience cause during the 1990′s was stopping rape in prison.

The stories, given wide publicity by the 1994 movie “The Shawshank Redemption,” are about how toughened inmates watch the newly-incarcerated walk by yelling,

“New fish!”

Will an inmate come up to Rod Blagojevich and say, "I like your hair"?

Thomas Puchmelter hung himself in his McHenry County Jail cell last weekend.

While the Sheriff’s Office has not released much information. Daily Herald reporter Harry Hitzeman writes that a Freedom of Information request has been filed for the internal investigation report, which Undersheriff Andy Zinke says is not completed.

What struck my eye in the Daily Herald story was the following paragraph about an interview with his mother, an assault on whom led to his jailing:

Thomas J. Puchmelter decided death was better than state prison. This is the photo of when he was arrested by Crystal Lake Police.

She says Thomas was taking anti-anxiety medication and was probably mentally ill. She said her son went to prison in Joliet earlier in his life and was terrified of going back.

With all the correspondence I have received from men who have been raped in prison during my last six years in the Illinois General Assembly, please excuse me if I think such an experience might have been going through Thomas Puchmelter’s mind as he debated whether life in prison could be worse than death.

The following letter from Just Detention International Executive Director Lovisa Stannow about the U.S. Justice Department’s belated request (regulations were supposed to go into effect last July 1st, according to the law) for comments on its proposed rape in prison regulations provides up to date information:

Justice Department Confirms Appalling Human Rights Crisis: 216,600 Inmates Sexually Abused in One Year

At long last, yesterday the Department of Justice launched its 60-day public comment period on proposed national standards addressing sexual abuse in detention. In an extensive report, the Department also released, for the first time, its own estimate of the number of inmates who endured sexual abuse while behind bars in a one-year period: 216,600.

That’s right: 216,600. This number is a devastating confirmation of what JDI has claimed for years — sexual abuse in U.S. detention is a horrific, nationwide human rights crisis.

Let’s put 216,600 in perspective: almost 600 prisoners a day are subjected to rape and other forms of sexual abuse while in the government’s care.

Or, put differently, 25 inmates are abused every hour of every day.

That number reflects only the first time each person was victimized during a one-year period; the number of incidents of sexual abuse is several times higher, as many inmates are assaulted again and again.

Prisoner rape survivors continue to be locked up with their assailants, unable to escape — forced to live in constant fear of another attack, their trauma renewed every time they see their abusers. These are our fellow human beings; men, women, and children who one day will return home to their families and communities.

At JDI, we hope that these shocking numbers will, once and for all, force the corrections community to acknowledge the full extent of the crisis of sexual abuse and rally in favor of strong national standards to end it.

After an initial review, we can say that the revised standards contain both positive points — such as requiring staff to consider the factors that make someone more vulnerable to abuse when making housing decisions — as well as negative ones — such as allowing prison grievance policies to put harsh limits on how much time a survivor has after an assault to file a formal report.

As we continue our analysis of the standards, we will provide you with further updates and insights — and we encourage all of our supporters and allies to join us in providing feedback on the revised standards.

After the conclusion of the 60-day public comment period (March 24) the Department of Justice will review the input it has received and modify the measures before formalizing them as federal regulations. According to the press release accompanying the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Justice Department plans to complete this process before the end of 2011.

Thank you for helping us make sure that the Department of Justice and corrections facilities across the country take seriously their responsibility to end the sexual abuse of inmates.

Lovisa Stannow,
Executive Director

Chuck Keeshan’s Daily Herald article about 53-year old Antioch Upper Grade School teacher Wes Owens, a resident of McHenry County’s far northeastern Solon Mills, has brought some pungent comments from those who think the punishment should be more that incarceration.

The sexual relationship started when a former student, who had become a babysitter, was 15 and lasted two years.

One seems to be looking forward to Owens’ being raped in prison.

Voiceofthepeople: Tue Sep 21, 2010 3:24 PM +3

Believe me this guy is going to get whats comming to him in Prison….You know I dont really care much for convicted Felons, but I love the way they deal with Child molesters….

ihateidiots : Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:55 PM +2

Anyone for castration

Perhaps these folks should run for the state legislature, but, if I were still in Springfield, such proposals would have my active opposition.

Until they change current law, however, rape is not part of any sentence in Illinois.

Now called "Just Detention, International," the group started out as "Stop Prison Rape."

Kenneth L. Johnson is due for parole October 20, 2011. He was sentenced to 3 years, six months, for the possession of child pornography.

Perhaps those calling for such informal, but life-changing punishment by inmates might reflect upon the

“Fresh meat!”

cat calls when newly incarcerated young men from the area walk into prison.

Those young men get raped, too.

Maybe the neighborhood kid who stole something to support a drug habit. Maybe the neighborhood youth who sold marijuana to support his habit.

Besides never being able to teach again, former Antioch teacher Owens will have to register as a sex offender.

This is the second teacher from that system to face such charges. The first, Kenneth Lee Johnson, told police of Owens’ affair.

= = = = =

Added September 30, 2010.

The day this story went up, I filed a Freedom of Information request with the Antioch school district for photos and what the two men taught.

She wrote me, “Ken Johnson taught Social Studies at Antioch Upper Grade School and Wes Owens taught Language Arts and Social Studies at Antioch Upper Grade School,” but did not send their photos.  I asked her to reconsider before I filed an appeal with the Attorney General’s Public Access Division.

Today I received the following email from Principal Mary Ellen Casey:

Ken Johnson yearbook picture.

Yearbook photo of Wes Owens

The District continues to assert that the photographs you have requested are not “public records” merely because they are in the District’s possession.  However, the District is not interested in continuing to expend District resources to object to the disclosure of photographs of these two individuals.  Therefore, pictures of both individuals are attached.

Needless to say, I disagree and would have filed an appeal with the Public Access Division of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office had the district not provided the photos.  Fortunately for Antioch taxpayers, wise heads prevailed and legal fees were saved.

Either the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice is doing one marvelous job preventing rape and other sexual assaults in prison or employees are not keeping their eyes open.

I filed a Freedom of Information request with the new spin-off department asking for any documents relating to rape or sexual assault on youth in the department’s care. Here’s the response I received from Chief Legal Advisor Beth Anne Compton:

“Any rape or sexual assault occurring in a Department of Juvenile Justice facility would trigger reporting pursuant to Department policies and an investigation.

“However, there have been no such occurrences during the 12 month period of September 1, 2009 through August 31, 2010.

“Therefore the Department has no documentation to provide in response to your request.”

A big story starting on the front page of Sunday’s Chicago Tribune asks the question,

Why do
people
falsely
confess?

Experts: It happens
more than you think

It’s starts with Kevin Fox, the father of daughter Riley, found dead in a Will County creek.

He explains, “He knew he hadn’t sexually assaulted his 3-year old daughter, but police had rejected his requests for a lawyer and told him they would arrange for inmates to rape him in jail.”

You may think that threat nonsense.

I don’t.

The relationship between law enforcement offices in Will County and those who run the state prison are close.

Close enough that one former Will County State’s Attorney told me he could arrange for a prisoner to be put in a cell with someone who would rape him.

Justice, American-style, I guess.

Today Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass had a field day Wednesday suggesting Chicago-based TV shows for former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

More clever, however, is one suggested by Northwest Herald cartoonist Wallace.

He conceives of

He shows a beefy inmate dancing with Rod saying,

“Your hair
smells nice.”

The cutline is

“The Rod Blagojevich
reality show we’d all like to see.”

It’s clever, but in poor taste, in my opinion.

The reason is that men really do get raped in prison.

I just don’t think joking about rape, whether of women or men is in good taste.

Perhaps someone at the Northwest Herald had second thoughts, because this April 20, 2009, cartoon is not shown on the editorial cartoon page.