Despite the consistent protests of at least one female guard, inmates at a maximum-security prison in Iowa have been allowed to view movies with graphic depictions of violent murder and sex.
The prison is home to mentally ill criminals, including murderers and sex offenders; and officials apparently feel they deserve an opportunity to watch movies like “Deranged,” which depicts a woman being violently raped and tortured.
A female correctional officer said she has been trying to end the practice – which she contends contributes to inmates’ aggression – since she began working at the facility a decade ago.
Inappropriate movies aired multiple times daily in a common room with as many as 45 convicts viewing, she said, adding that inmates would often expose themselves and harass her during the films.
She claims her superiors reacted by denying her request and even blaming her for the prisoners’ actions.
The guard presented evidence of disciplinary action taken against her when she dared to turn off a movie containing scenes of sex and violence.
“If I had not lived through it myself, I wouldn’t believe this,” she said, explaining that inmates threatened to kill her after administrators barred explicit movies in response to her continued complaints.
Though she was pelted with urine and sustained a barrage of insults, officials would not transfer her to a safer assignment until more than a year had passed, she added.
A former warden at the prison basically disregarded the guard’s concerns, declaring that the facility is “an institution of adult males and much of what we show can be seen on general television broadcasts.”
It is outrageous to contend that prisoners deserve to view anything readily available to the general population; furthermore, suggesting something is harmless merely based on the fact it is disseminated over public airwaves is incredibly naive.
While the vast majority might view graphic movies without being influenced, those who have already proven themselves to be violent and/or mentally ill should not be presumed to handle such material in the same manner – especially after being deprived of most outside stimuli.
How anyone can fault a female officer for feeling unsafe in that environment is beyond my understanding.
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Great insights. Especially in the USA today. In today’s America, there are only two types of American Citizens, The Diagnosed and the Un-Diagnosed. We have too damned many classifications of Mental Illness and the Doctors and Pharmaceutical Industry in collusion with the Federal Government have added more and more maladies suffered by all humans as Mental Illness. Grief over losing a loved one is now classified as a type of mental illness. Every American is Mentally Ill according to the DSM-V. So, by using the Official Pharmaceutical and Medical Manual, the DSM-V. This DSM is ever changing and soon there will be a DSM-VI, as more and more Natural and Normal Emotional Stressors will be Labeled as A Mental Disorder and of course, there will be a Miracle Cure Drug approved by the FDA and Endorsed by the CDC and AMA which insures the Sales of More and More Un-Necessary Drugs which makes huge profits for the Pharmaceutical Companies and Doctors Who Prescribe Them, and who also, are usually a Stock Holder in Pharmaceutical Companies, thus guaranteeing Profits for their own Financial Gain.
I believe that’s called a hostile work environment and the prison would lose the case. At work you can’t even hang pictures of a women in a bikini. The prison is making the inmates movies more important than following the law. They should know better. Plus it’s a prison, they lost their rights. Watching a movie is a privledge not a right.
I agree! What is the point of sentencing someone to punishment, if you are then going to allow them to do as they please? I don’t think they should be allowed any kind of entertainment. They should sit in the cells, 23 hours a day, being drugged if necessary to keep them under control, and only allowed out for an hour of exercise, which is mandated by the guards. Prison is not supposed to be pleasant! It is supposed to be punishment for behavior that offends society. We need to stop worrying so much about the rights of the criminals, who abused those rights and freedoms, and start worrying about the overall condition of society, and those who are charged with keeping these morons under control.
Goggled “prison wardens & psychiatry.” Got this. “A position as a warden requires extensive knowledge of the administration of a correctional facility. Job descriptions listed knowledge of INSTITUTIONAL BEHAVIOR AND PSYCHOLOGY AS A REQUISITE with an emphasis on understanding the unique challenges of treating offenders.” No wonder this lady was having a hard time, she was dealing with the wardens lunacy.
I’ve looked at psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis, and big pharma’s involvement in our schools, courts, law-enforcement, military, social services, insurance, etc. I have concluded one immutable fact, i.e. they are the problem, not the solution. Aurora, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, and all other school shootings had two things in common, 1) previous contact with a psych and 2) psychotropic drugs. Get rid of them…Semper Fi
I am posting everyplace I am allowed to. I do not think it will do any good, but I have to try. I hope you do the same.
http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2012/12/breaking-news-hawaii-state-registrar-alvin-onaka-has-publicly-certified-to-az-sos-ken-bennett-that-barack-obamas-hi-birth-certificate-is-legally-non-valid-and-the-white-house-image-2549640.html
While I believe 100% in womens rights, I have always said a woman has NO place working at a mens prison.
By what reasoning could you possibly justify showing these types of movies to those deemed mentally ill, who require incarceration in a maximum-security facility?
I do agree that a woman should not be working “in with” convicted men in this type of institution, movies or not. There are other positions in the facility she could work. Why dangle a carrot in front of these disturbed individuals? I am sure they didn’t get in there for jay-walking.