PRISON RAPE

I wanted to shed light on a topic that most of you have misconceptions on. The biggest misconception is that everyone who goes to prison is a victim of rape. I know I have your attention now. This statement is far from the truth, although rape does occur in prison in isolated incidents. I've never witnessed it myself but I did see some things which were strange when I went to court. I recall this kid who was heading upstate getting serviced from a gay kid while someone played lookout. There were always gay individuals in prison who had that lifestyle way before they came to prison. Prison doesnt turn anyone gay, unless they're a weak individual and they had those tendencies within themselves. There are alot of people that have this distorted perception of men being turned into homosexuals and I attribute that to "Oz". Everyone remembers that from HBO! It was a show which depicted the life of prisoners behind bars and the sadistic behaviors that came along with it. They perpetuated ideas which the mind could not fathom, but thats all a part of ratings. Its called entertainment, but some people viewed that show as if that was the blueprint to what actually transpires inside the walls. I'm here to tell you that show was far from the truth. There are no such people like an Adibise running a jail! Its not reality and that would never happen! Prison rape is prevalent and very much real but you are who you are way before you get where your going. I read an article about a gay kid who remains nameless here. He was the victim of rape for 18months in a Texas prison. He asserts prison officers deliberately ignored his protests when he asked for protective custody from his predators. This kid was the legal property of numerous gang members in prison and is now suing The Texas Department of Criminal Justice. This kid was involved in a burglary which he says his boyfriend influenced him. So for that he received 10 years probation. In 1997, he failed to report for probation and that lapse in judgment earned him his first stay in jail. Two years later, he violated parole again, this time by bouncing a check for $300. For a misdemeanor charge, he was placed in a low-security prison in Tennessee Colony, Tex. He soon ran afoul of the staff, having been caught hoarding extra prison whites. "It's all the same clothes, but with my background, you know, being gay, you like clothes," he says. This is the straw that broke the camels back because after being warned twice, he was transferred to a maximum state prison. He was befriended by a local gang banger who was the leader of the Black Gangster Disciples. He was offered protection and in exchange for that he was told he had to have sexual relations. Once he tried to break off the relationship, this is when the same person who vowed to protect him auctioned him off to other gang members within the facility. He was passed on to the Crips as well as the Bloods whether he was interested or not. He was forced and had no choice in the matter since his vulnerability allowed predators to prey on his incompetence. For 18 months, he became sole property of the Bloods, the Crips, the Mandingo Warriors, and the Mexican Mafia, all of whom forced him to have sex with their members. They also sold his services to other inmates, usually for between $5 and $10. (A cigarette in Allred goes for $1.50.) On several occasions, he received letters from gang leaders—now part of the evidence supporting his complaint—informing him that if he did not comply with their demands, the punishment would be even more severe than the rapes. One of the letters promised to "smash your bitch ass ASAP" if he resisted. A few years ago, Congress passed the Prison Rape Reduction Act, which allocates $60 million to support rape-prevention programs run by federal, state, and local corrections staff and to aid investigations and punishment of perpetrators. The bill, which enjoyed bipartisan support in the House and the Senate, also requires states to collect statistics on prison rape. Backers of the legislation hope federal oversight will make sexual assault prevention a priority for jail and prison systems across the nation. But $60 million can only go so far in addressing an alarming problem. These things do occur in prison, but only to those who allow it. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime because not everyone is cut from the same cloth as was the case with this individual.