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87–677 PDF 2003

S. HRG. 107–937

THE PRISON RAPE REDUCTION ACT OF 2002

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

JULY 31, 2002

Serial No. J–107–99

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary

(

(II)

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman 

EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts 

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware 

HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin 

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California 

RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin 

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York 

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina 

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah 

STROM THURMOND, South Carolina 

CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa 

ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania 

JON KYL, Arizona 

MIKE DEWINE, Ohio 

JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama 

SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas 

MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky 

BRUCE A. COHEN, Majority Chief Counsel and Staff Director 

SHARON PROST, Minority Chief Counsel 

MAKAN DELRAHIM, Minority Staff Director 

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C O N T E N T S 

STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS 

Kennedy, Hon. Edward M., a U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts ... 1

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 67

Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., a U.S. Senator from the State of Utah, prepared 

statement .............................................................................................................. 61

Sessions, Hon. Jeff, a U.S. Senator from the State of Alabama .......................... 6

WITNESSES 

Bruntmyer, Linda, Amarillo, Texas ....................................................................... 8

Dumond, Robert W., Clinical Mental Health Counselor, and Member, Board 

of Advisors, Stop Prisoner Rape, Hudson, New Hampshire ............................. 13

Earley, Mark, President, Prison Fellowship Ministries, Reston, Virginia .......... 9

Saperstein, Rabbi David, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Washington, D.C. ......................................................................................... 11

Wolf, Hon. Frank R., a Representative in Congress from the State of Virginia 2

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD 

American Civil Liberties Union, Rachel King, Legislative Counsel, Washington National Office, and Elizabeth Alexander, Director, National Prison 

Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, statement and attachments .. 24

Bruntmyer, Linda, Amarillo, Texas, prepared statement .................................... 30

Dumond, Robert W., Clinical Mental Health Counselor, and Member, Board 

of Advisors, Stop Prisoner Rape, Hudson, New Hampshire, prepared statement and attachment ........................................................................................... 34

Eagle Group, Frank A. Hall, Managing Director, Washington, D.C., letter ....... 53

Earley, Mark, President, Prison Fellowship Ministries, Reston, Virginia, prepared statement ................................................................................................... 55

Human Rights Watch, Wendy Patten, U.S. Advocacy Director, Washington, 

D.C., prepared statement .................................................................................... 63

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Hilary Shelton, 

Director, Washington, D.C., prepared statement .............................................. 69

National Association of Evangelicals, Richard C. Cizik, Vice President, Government Affairs, Washington, D.C., letter ......................................................... 72

National Commission on Correctional Health Care, Edward Harrison, President, Chicago, Illinois, prepared statement ....................................................... 73

Pryor, Bill, Attorney General of Alabama, prepared statement .......................... 76

Salvation Army, George E. Hood, Major, National Director of Public Affairs, 

letter ...................................................................................................................... 78

Saperstein, Rabbi David, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Washington, D.C., prepared statement ...................................................... 79

Southern Baptist Convention, Shannon Royce, Director of Government Relations and Counsel, Washington, D.C., letter ...................................................... 82

Struckman-Johnson, Cindy, Professor of Psychology, University of South Dakota, prepared statement and attachment ......................................................... 83

Wolf, Hon. Frank R., a Representative in Congress from the State of Virginia, 

prepared statement .............................................................................................. 86

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THE PRISON RAPE REDUCTION ACT OF 2002

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2002

UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, D.C. 

The Committee met, Pursuant to notice, at 1:34 p.m., in room 

SD–226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Edward M. Kennedy, presiding. 

Present: Senators Kennedy and Sessions. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD M. KENNEDY, A U.S. 

SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS 

Senator KENNEDY. We will come to order. Today, the Judiciary 

Committee considers a serious problem in prisons, jails, and detention centers. 

In 1994, the Supreme Court ruled that, ‘‘Being violently assaulted in prison is simply not part of the penalty that criminal offenders pay for their offenses against society.’’ Nevertheless, we 

know that hundreds of thousands of inmates across the nation, not 

only convicted prisoners, but pre-trial detainees and immigration 

detainees, as well, are victims of sexual assault each year. 

Prison rape has devastating physical and psychological effects on 

its victims. It also has serious consequences for communities. Sixhundred-thousand inmates are released from prison or detention 

every year, and their brutalization increases the likelihood that 

they will commit new crimes after they are released. 

Infection rates for HIV, other sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, and hepatitis C are far greater for prisoners than for 

the American population as a whole. Prison rape undermines the 

public health by contributing to the spread of these diseases and 

often gives a potential death sentence to its victims. 

It is long past time to address this epidemic. Last month, Senator Sessions and I proposed the Prison Rape Reduction Act, a bipartisan bill to deal with the problem of prison rape while still respecting the primary role of States and local governments in administering prisons and jails. 

Our bill asks the Department of Justice to conduct an annual 

statistical review of prison rape to identify institutions with high 

incidence of rape. It authorizes $40 million a year in grants to 

strengthen the ability of State and local officials to prevent these 

abuses. It establishes a commission to conduct hearings over 2 

years and recommend national standards on a wide range of issues, 

including inmate classification, investigation of rape complaints, 

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trauma care for rape victims, disease prevention, and staff training. 

An extraordinary coalition of churches, civil rights groups, and 

concerned individuals have joined together to act on this issue. It 

is not a liberal issue or a conservative issue. It is an issue of basic 

decency and human rights. I commend this coalition for its impressive moral leadership and I thank Chairman Leahy for the opportunity to hold this hearing. 

In the House of Representatives, our legislation is sponsored by 

two human rights leaders, Congressman Frank Wolf and Congressman Bobby Scott. We are privileged to have Congressman Wolf 

here today. With its growing support in Congress and the broad coalition of other supporters, we hope that this bill can be signed into 

law this year, and I thank all the witnesses for being with us and 

look forward to their testimony. 

I particularly want to recognize a constituent of ours, John 

Caneb from Massachusetts, who is in the audience and has been 

very much involved in this issue and commend him for his great 

interest in this and all of the help he has been in terms of moving 

this process forward. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Kennedy appears as a submission for the record.] 

Senator KENNEDY. We are fortunate this afternoon to have some 

really outstanding witnesses. Our first is a very special one, Congressman Frank Wolf. Few Members of Congress can claim a list 

of accomplishments comparable to Frank Wolf’s. In his 22 years as 

a Representative of Virginia’s Tenth Congressional District, Congressman Wolf has been a leader in developing mass transportation, promoting family-friendly workplaces for Federal employees, 

and drawing attention to the harmful effects of legalized gambling. 

As Chairman of the House Commerce, Justice, State, and Judiciary Appropriations Committee, he is also one of the strongest 

voices in Congress for human rights. He is Co-Chairman of the 

Congressional Human Rights Caucus, a member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission. He has worked to improve human rights and 

basic living conditions for refugees around the world. He is the lead 

sponsor of the Prison Rape Reduction Act in the House, along with 

Congressman Bobby Scott. We are honored to have him before our 

committee today. 

Thank you very much, Congressman, for being here and for the 

good work that you do on this legislation and so many other pieces 

of legislation, as well. 

STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK R. WOLF, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF VIRGINIA 

Representative WOLF. Thank you, Senator, and thank you for 

your comments. I appreciate your holding these hearings, particularly in the last week the Senate is in session, knowing how busy 

everything is. So it is a tribute to you that you have taken the time 

and I want to thank you. 

I appreciate you giving me this opportunity to be here today to 

testify on a vitally important issue to the nation’s prison system, 

the ongoing problem of prison rape. 

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I also want to acknowledge the efforts, and I am speaking for my 

Virginia colleague, Bobby Scott, who could not be here today but 

whose efforts, along with yours and Senator Sessions’, make this 

issue truly bipartisan. This legislation, the Prison Rape Reduction 

Act of 2002, will go a long way in addressing a problem that has 

too long been quietly swept under the rug. 

I also want to thank the many groups that support this legislation, including Prison Fellowship, its President Chuck Colson, and 

Mark Earley, and NAACP, the Family Research Council, La Raza, 

the Human Rights Watch, Salvation Army, Rabbi Saperstein, and 

many others. With this broad array of support, I am hopeful, somehow, we can have this legislation passed before the end of this Congress. I also want to recognize the efforts of Michael Horowitz, who 

has spearheaded this entire effort and whose tireless dedication on 

this and other issues really deserves special recognition. 

Prison rape, to be sure, is not a dinner conversation issue. For 

years, no one—no one—has talked about it, much less acted on it. 

But as you know, Mr. Chairman, you and Senator Sessions, this 

issue is one of compassion and the broad base of support it has 

shows that it transcends one’s political affiliation. Society, hopefully, is finally coming to grips with this vile act. 

Of the two million prisoners in the U.S., a conservative estimate 

is one in ten—one in ten, and if you looked at the figures coming 

out today of the Department of Justice, the prison population is 

still increasing—but one in ten have been raped. A 1996 study of 

the Nebraska prison system reported that 22 percent—22 percent—

of male inmates had been pressured or forced to have sex against 

their will while incarceration, and over these, half submitted to 

forced sex at least once. Other reports and investigations have all 

demonstrated that there is a shockingly high rate of sexual abuse 

in U.S. prisons. 

Prison rape, like all other forms of sexual assault, is torture, the 

infliction of severe emotional and physical pain as punishment and 

coercion. Long after the body has healed, the emotional state remains traumatized and shamed. The individual is stigmatized, stigmatized in the prison and sometimes stigmatized outside. 

As you said, Senator, the Supreme Court has made it clear. 

‘‘Being violently assaulted in prison is simply not part of the penalty that criminal offenders pay for their offenses against society.’’ 

Deliberate indifference, and that is what we have had, deliberate 

indifference to prison rape violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. 

This is not just a matter of protecting inmates. Society also pays 

dearly for ignoring prison rape. All major studies show that prison 

rape costs the taxpayer in recidivism and increased violent crimes. 

Inmates, often non-violent first-time offenders, will come out of a 

prison rape experience severely traumatized and will often leave 

prison more violent than when they entered. Finally, the high incidence of rape within prison leads to the increased transmission of 

HIV, hepatitis, and other diseases, which society will have to pay 

for. 

While these policy realities of prison rape seem clear, to view this 

issue from the perspective of an individual inmate—and that is 

how you have to view it, from an inmate’s position and they are 

4

where they are and what they are at that time—is necessary to understand the true nature of this abhorrent act. Rape may be the 

ultimate humiliation, with very serious and long-lasting psychic 

damage to the victim, as well as to close loved ones who are secondary victims. 

Prison rape receives virtually no attention, no attention by the 

media. Where has the media been? You almost never ever see an 

article in the major media outlet with regard to the issue of prison 

rape. The politicians have been quiet, and the public at large has 

been quiet on the issue also. 

What actually happens to the victim of prison rape, prison rape 

survivors become rapists themselves in a demented attempt to regain what they think of as their ‘‘lost manhood.’’ Some prison rape 

victims retaliate by murdering their rapist, receiving added years 

to the sentence. Another outcome of prison rape is suicide. Researchers have found that suicide is the leading cause of death behind bars and sexual harassment is the leading cause of prisoner 

suicide. 

No matter where the survivor ends up, severe psychosis is the 

most common outcome of prisoner rape. Sexual assault can often 

break a prisoner’s spirit. In the advanced stages of rape, trauma 

syndrome, a survivor’s mood often swings between deep depression 

and rage. Prisoner rape may be the quickest, the most cost-effective 

way of producing a sociopath. According to researchers, the fact 

that most men on death row were sexually abused earlier in life 

should come as no surprise. Indeed, it is a fact that society ignores 

at its own peril. 

In April of 2001, the group Human Rights Watch published a report entitled ‘‘No Escape’’ that was a comprehensive investigation 

into the prison rape epidemic. Human Rights Watch deserves to be 

commended for this effort and I think that Members of Congress 

concerned about this prison system should read this report. 

The report shows that many of the inmates that are victims of 

rape were young and were often placed in prisons as non-violent 

offenders. Also, many were scheduled for short sentences and 

would soon be returning to society. 

The report also published some of the actual letters written by 

inmate victims of prison rape. For example, an inmate in Florida 

writes the following. He says, ‘‘I was young, and yes, I was weak. 

My weight was only 120 pounds. The first few months I was raped 

and beat up many times. I would always fight back. I wanted my 

attackers to know that I was not a willing subject for their 

evilness. I went to the guards for help and was told there was 

nothing that could be done, that I would have to stand up like a 

man and take care of my own troubles.’’

I have attached excerpts from other letters, and last night in preparing for this testimony, I went back and read some of the letters. 

I did not want to read them out loud. But I think anybody who has 

anything to do in the prison system ought to read these letters. 

They are painful. They are just unbelievable, and when you think 

that you are in an institution run by the government where you 

would see the guards that you could think that you could go to—

when we have a problem, we see a police officer, we go to him, and 

5

here the guards sometimes are telling you that there is nothing 

they can do. 

The letters will be put in the record. Everyone ought to read 

these letters and then imagine, what if this was somebody in my 

family? What if this were a relative? What if this were the nextdoor neighbor? What if this were somebody on my staff? What if 

this were somebody who was picked up for some minor crime? The 

letters are actually brutal and I think they ought to be forced reading for anybody in the criminal justice system. 

Mr. Chairman, in closing, we are learning more stories of prison 

rape. These accounts have only recently been catalogued, as often 

inmates have been afraid to speak out for years. Throughout my 

career, I have long believed that criminals deserve tough sentences, 

and I still believe that being tough on criminals serves to protect 

our larger society. 

But ignoring prison rape has nothing to do with being tough on 

criminals. Deliberate indifference will only serve to undermine the 

entire criminal justice system. A man who is sentenced to time 

should serve that time, but he is not sentenced to being raped and 

possibly contacting HIV. 

I am hopeful and believe, particularly with this hearing, this legislation will provide a chance to gain a full picture of how widespread the abuse is and offer incentives for correctional facilities to 

finally address it. For too long, it has been ignored, and with this 

hearing, that has come to an end. 

I appreciate your leadership and that of Senator Sessions and 

the hearing, which will give us a record that maybe perhaps we 

could take this, if we run out of time, and just stuff it on some appropriations bill somewhere whereby it becomes law so we can really do something to make a difference. 

With that, Mr. Chairman, I thank you very much. 

Senator KENNEDY. We know who will be stuffing it on some appropriations bill. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator KENNEDY. That is powerful testimony, Congressman. 

Just very quickly, you have covered the ground, but I would like 

to hear again about why people should be concerned about what is 

happening. There are so many reasons why this demands attention 

and demands our focus and assistance in trying to make an impact 

on this conduct. You have already thought about this from so many 

different dimensions. Why should people outside the prisons be 

concerned about it? 

You have illustrated some of the reasons, but if we are interested 

in having a peaceful society and having communities free from violence and stress, to the extent that that can be the case, why is 

it important that we support and give attention to this problem? 

Why should the average person be concerned about this? If we do 

not do it, what are their risks, and if we take some steps, what are 

their advantages? 

Representative WOLF. I think when you incarcerate someone, you 

cannot just put them away with the idea they are in a warehouse. 

I think you have to treat them with compassion, give them education, training, and this is a situation whereby they actually come 

out more violent. When you read the letters, as I am sure you will, 

6

you will see that you are actually turning these people into violent 

people when they come out. 

Years ago, before I was elected to Congress, I was involved in a 

program with former Redskin player Charlie Harraway. We would 

go down to Lorton. It was called ‘‘Man to Man.’’ It was a Christian 

program and you would counsel the prisoners. Sometimes a prison 

would tell you—in Lorton, they were living mainly on a dormitory 

basis. Violent criminals in a dormitory basis—a prison that was 

built in the old days, they thought was a good way to do it, really 

was not working. The prisoner would say, ‘‘I can never really completely sleep. I literally have to half stay awake because I am not 

sure what is going to happen to me in the middle of the night. 

Somebody is going to come and attack me. Somebody is going to 

put a shiv in me. A gang will grab me.’’ It is the fear that they 

have. 

So I think society has an obligation and a burden, but also with 

regard to a duty to see that these prisoners are treated fairly serving their time so when they do come out, you do not have more 

HIV and you also do not have sociopathic people coming out who 

want to take this out on society. 

So I think it is just the right thing to do, but I think society benefits by treating people with compassion and treating them well. 

Senator KENNEDY. That is, I think, an excellent comment and 

statement and absolutely an accurate one. 

I recognize Senator Sessions for any questions. 

STATEMENT OF HON. JEFF SESSIONS, A U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF ALABAMA 

Senator SESSIONS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for 

your leadership on this important issue. I am pleased to join with 

you on it, and Congressman Wolf, it is great to have your leadership in the House and that of Congressman Scott. 

I was a Federal prosecutor for a long time and talked to a lot 

of mothers. I had a policy that I would talk to anybody about a case 

that was coming through my office, and frequently would have 

very, very painful discussions with mothers and family when their 

members would be sent off to the penitentiary. It is tough enough 

to go to jail. We ought not to have any doubts that these people 

who are being punished for violation of our law are being subjected 

to sexual abuse in the process. I do not think we can defend that. 

That is not justifiable. 

I hope and pray the numbers that we have been hearing are exaggerated, but I have no doubt that too much of it is going on. I 

believe our legislation, Mr. Chairman, will help us tell the public 

and to family members of people who are going to jail that we are 

not going to tolerate this kind of behavior. We are going to put a 

stop to it if there is any way possible. 

Of course, prisons are dangerous places. They are populated with 

a number of people, not all, but a number of them that are quite 

dangerous and perfection is not possible, but we can do better, a 

lot better, I am convinced, and I appreciate both of your leadership 

on this question. It is not just legal or political, it is a moral question. I believe that we are on the right road to dealing with it. 

7

I was pleased that my Attorney General, Bill Pryor, who is a 

strong believer in the legal systems and independence of States, believes that this is appropriate legislation and supports it. I noticed 

recently the Southern Baptist Convention has come forward with 

an endorsement of the legislation. That goes in addition to the 

many, many others that have already been received, I think. 

So I feel good about where we are and I look forward to working 

with you. Thank you. 

Representative WOLF. Thank you very much. 

Senator KENNEDY. Let me, if I could, Congressman, you have visited a lot of prisons in other parts of the world. Do you think this 

is something that is endemic in prisons? Where do we come out on 

all of this? Are we better? Are we worse? There is a general sense 

that we have got a great deal to do. 

Representative WOLF. I do not know, Senator. It is not an 

issue—I have been in prisons in other countries. It is really not an 

issue you can really raise with a man, so I do not really know the 

answer. Perhaps the Prison Fellowship people or some of the other 

groups would know. 

Senator KENNEDY. If it is bad in other countries, it does not help 

us and should not give us any satisfaction. We have an enormous 

challenge, an incredible problem, one that has not gotten the focus 

and attention that it should have for all the excellent reasons that 

you and Senator Sessions have pointed out, so we thank you so 

much for being here. We want to continue to work very closely with 

you. 

Representative WOLF. Thank you, Senator. 

Senator KENNEDY. Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Wolf appears as a submission for 

the record.] 

Senator KENNEDY. We have a very excellent panel. I will ask 

them if they would come forward when I introduce them. 

Linda Bruntmyer is a resident of Amarillo, Texas. She has suffered a devastating loss and demonstrated extraordinary courage in 

telling her story so that future tragedies can be avoided. Film 

maker Gabriel London has featured her in his documentary, ‘‘No 

Escape: Prison Rape in America.’’

Mark Earley is making the transition from politics to the ministry. He was a member of the Virginia State Senate from 1987 to 

1997 and was the Virginia Attorney General from 1997 to 2001. 

Mr. Earley recently became President of the Prison Fellowship 

Ministries, a nonprofit ministry that provides support and spiritual 

guidance to thousands of prisoners, ex-prisoners, victims, and their 

families. Chuck Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries, has spoken eloquently against prison rape and Mark Earley 

is continuing his record of service and moral leadership. 

Robert Dumond is a clinical mental health counselor in Hudson, 

New Hampshire. For over 30 years, he has provided services to 

crime victims and offenders. He served as Director of Mental 

Health for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. He developed the first curriculum for rape awareness training. He has researched, written, and lectured extensively on the subject of sexual 

assault and serves on the New Hampshire Department of Corrections Citizens Advisory Board Committee and on the Board of AdVerDate Mar 21 2002 09:32 Jun 18, 2003 Jkt 087677 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\HEARINGS\87677.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
8

visors for the Organization to Stop Prisoner Rape. We are delighted 

to have him here. 

And an old friend, Rabbi David Saperstein, is our final witness. 

He is well known to everyone here. For 25 years, he has been the 

Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Rabbi 

Saperstein has been a strong advocate for human rights, civil 

rights, and social justice. He has written several books, led religious coalitions, and serves on the board of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights of the NAACP. In 1999, he was selected as 

the first Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious 

Freedom. Rabbi Saperstein also teaches First Amendment and 

Jewish law at Georgetown University Law Center. We welcome 

you. 

I think each of our witnesses has a unique insight into the problem of prison rape and I thank them all for being here. We look 

forward to their testimony. 

We will start with you, Ms. Bruntmyer. 

STATEMENT OF LINDA BRUNTMYER, AMARILLO, TEXAS 

Ms. BRUNTMYER. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to 

testify. My name is Linda Bruntmyer and I am here today to tell 

you about my son, Rodney Hulin. 

When Rodney was 16, he and his brother set a dumpster on fire 

in the alley of our neighborhood. The authorities decided to make 

an example of Rodney. Even though only $500 in damage was 

caused by the fire, they sentenced him to 8 years in an adult prison. 

We were frightened for him from the start. At age 16, Rodney 

was a small guy, only five-foot-two and about 125 pounds. And as 

a first offender, we knew he would be targeted by tough, older, 

adult inmates. 

Then our worst nightmare came true. Rodney wrote us a letter 

telling us he had been raped. A medical examiner had confirmed 

the rape. The doctor found tears in his rectum and ordered an HIV 

test, because, he told us, one-third of the prisoners there are HIV 

positive. 

Only that was the beginning. Rodney knew if he went back into 

the general population, he would be in danger. He wrote to the authorities, requesting to be moved to a safer place. He went through 

all the proper channels, but he was denied. 

After the first rape, he returned to the general population. There, 

he was repeatedly beaten and forced to perform oral sex and raped. 

He wrote for help again. In the grievance letter, he wrote, ‘‘I have 

been sexually and physically assaulted several times, by several inmates. I am afraid to go to sleep, to shower, and just about anything else. I am afraid that when I am doing these things, I would 

die at any minute. Please, sir, help me.’’

Still, officials told him that he did not meet the emergency criteria. We all tried to get him to a safe place. I called the warden, 

trying to figure out what was going on. He said, ‘‘Rodney needs to 

grow up.’’ He said, ‘‘This happens every day. Learn to deal with it. 

It is no big deal.’’

We were despaired. Rodney started to violate the rules so that 

he would be put in segregation. After he was finally put into segVerDate Mar 21 2002 09:32 Jun 18, 2003 Jkt 087677 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\HEARINGS\87677.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
9

regation, we had about a 10-minute phone conversation. He was 

crying. He said, ‘‘Mom, I am emotionally and mentally destroyed.’’

That was the last time I heard my son’s voice. On the night of 

January 26, 1996, my son hung himself in his cell. He was 17 and 

afraid and ashamed and hopeless. He laid in a coma for the next 

4 months before he died. 

Sadly, I know that Rodney is not alone. The human rights group 

Stop Prisoner Rape gets calls and letters every day from men and 

women who are asking for help, to help them move to a safer place, 

asking them to help protect their loved ones who are being raped, 

asking them to help because there was no one in authority that 

would step in and say, no, this is not justice. This is not right. 

I support this legislation because I know it would stop prisons 

from ignoring pleas for help from people like my son. We know that 

what happened to Rodney could have been prevented. There are 

ways to protect the vulnerable inmates and ways to respond to the 

needs of prisoners who have been sexually assaulted. Even so, vulnerable prisoners are being sexually abused across this country 

every day. Rodney tried to ask for help. I tried, too. But nothing 

was done. 

I am asking, please, sir, please support this legislation. It is urgently, desperately needed. Rape in prison should no longer be tolerated. It destroys human dignity. It spreads diseases. It makes 

people more angry and violent. It kills. It is not what we mean 

when we say justice. Rape should not be considered a part of a 

punishment. Rape is always a crime. 

Senator KENNEDY. Thank you very much, Linda. 

Ms. BRUNTMYER. Thank you. 

Senator KENNEDY. We know that this is a horrific incident and 

we know that it is enormously difficult for you to be able to relive 

that time, so we are very, very appreciative of the fact that you are 

willing to come here and tell us about it. It is very helpful to us. 

The best way that we can try and thank you for it is to do something, and we will. Thank you very much, though. 

Ms. BRUNTMYER. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Bruntmyer appears as a submission for the record.] 

Senator KENNEDY. Mr. Earley, thank you very much. We look 

forward to your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF MARK EARLEY, PRESIDENT, PRISON 

FELLOWSHIP MINISTRIES, RESTON, VIRGINIA 

Mr. EARLEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Sessions. Thank 

you all very much for holding this hearing. I particularly want to 

thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Sessions, Congressman Wolf, 

and Congressman Scott, for your leadership in supporting this legislation. 

My name is Mark Earley. I am currently the President of Prison 

Fellowship Ministries. Prior to that, I served for the last 4 years 

as Attorney General of Virginia. 

Many of you know Prison Fellowship was founded in 1976 by 

Chuck Colson. It is today the largest prison outreach and criminal 

justice reform organization in the world, in all 50 States and 95 

countries around the world. Our goal is to bring the redemptive 

10

love of Jesus Christ to prisoners, ex-prisoners, families, and victims 

of crime. Many of our staff are ex-offenders. 

I want to speak just for a second about the problem. The problem 

of prison rape, as you have just heard, is real. It is unjust, it is 

tragic, and unfortunately, often hidden. For 26 years of Prison Fellowship’s ministry, our staff employees and volunteers have heard 

from many of the prisoners we have served the kinds of stories we 

all just heard from Ms. Bruntmyer. We have been able to see behind the curtain of secrecy that so often exists. 

This is a problem that affects everyone. Ninety-five percent of all 

inmates will return to society and they will return in a way that 

will either help them to reintegrate or hinder their ability to reintegrate. If they have been victims of sexual assault and rape, the 

deck is stacked against them from becoming productive members 

of society. 

Congressman Wolf eloquently spoke about the psychological ravages that occur from prison rape and Ms. Bruntmyer’s son is an example of what ultimately happens in far too many cases, and that 

is psychological depression, leading to suicide. 

The problem also affects more prisoners than we think. Out of 

the two million prisoners in the United States, the estimates are 

between 250,000 and 600,000 have been forced to have sexual contact. In 1996, Nebraska was the subject of a survey showing 22 

percent of prisoners had been forced to have sexual contact. An 

anonymous Southern State was surveyed on the condition of anonymity. One-third of prisoners said they had been subject to prison 

rape. The guards estimated one-in-five, the prison officials, one-ineight. Either of those statistics are devastating. 

Prison Journal had a study in 2000 showing 21 percent of all inmates in America have been raped. The problem is that studies are 

too few, and part of what this legislation will remedy is to force us 

to keep statistics to shine a spotlight on the problem. 

The other systemic part of this problem is that it is fostered by 

acceptance and indifference at every level. Many in society believe 

that those in prison deserve whatever happens to them in prison 

or believe that whatever happens is inevitable. Both are wrong. 

Some in authority, unfortunately, look the other way in order to 

preserve the peace. 

Jack Cowley was a warden with the Oklahoma Correctional System for 20 years. He shared with me, before I came yesterday, he 

said, ‘‘Prison rape, to a large degree, is made more serious by the 

deliberate indifference of many prison officials. Oftentimes, these 

officials will purposely turn their back on unspeakable acts in order 

to maintain peace, allowing aggressive predators to have their way. 

Additionally, many prison rapes involve intimidation of the weaker 

inmate to the point where they reluctantly give consent in order to 

survive, but it is rape nonetheless. Therefore, many of the officials 

believe in managing a 1,000-person prison designed for only 500 

becomes much easier and they permit it to occur as a means of 

prison control.’’

Having served as Attorney General in Virginia and having been 

in the legislature for 10 years, obviously, all of us in politics want 

to be tough on crime. Prison rape is a crime. It is a crime that no 

one, either in jail or out of jail, should ever be subject to. 

11

This proposed legislation today that is the subject of this hearing 

has a tremendously broad coalition of support and you are to be 

commended for leading such a coalition. Its goal is to eliminate 

rape. I would like to just focus my comments on one piece of the 

legislation which I think is going to be very important, and that 

is that it enables the collection of statistics. 

In society, we measure what we care about, and unfortunately, 

we have not cared about this problem. We need to begin. Measuring statistics will imprint this issue upon the moral conscience 

of America. It will imprint it upon the moral conscience of prison 

officials, and it will discourage prison officials from using it as a 

means of prison control. It will enable us to pinpoint the prisons 

that need help, to allocate attention and resources accordingly. 

Issues of federalism should not be a concern with this legislation. 

This legislation forces a State to do nothing. It has no unfunded 

mandates. It does encourage States to adopt Federal standards, but 

it even allows them to opt out of those Federal standards by a vote 

of their legislature. Indeed, if the Congress wanted to, based on existing constitutional law, it could go much further, but this is a bill 

which respects the sovereignty of States. Therefore, objections 

based on a federalism argument should not be an issue. 

Finally, I would like to close with a quote of Winston Churchill, 

who said this. ‘‘One of the best tests of whether we are truly a civilized people is the temper and mood of the public in regard to the 

treatment of crime and criminals.’’ You have afforded us a great opportunity to pass this test, a test which we have failed in the past. 

Thank you. 

Senator KENNEDY. Thank you very much. That is very helpful. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Earley appears as a submission 

for the record.] 

Senator KENNEDY. Rabbi Saperstein? 

STATEMENT OF RABBI DAVID SAPERSTEIN, DIRECTOR, RELIGIOUS ACTION CENTER OF REFORM JUDAISM, WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Rabbi SAPERSTEIN. Good afternoon. I am here representing the 

National Reform Jewish movement. I am pleased to speak in support of the Prison Rape Reduction Act of 2002. This important legislation would address a profound violation of human rights whose 

shameful prevalence has been overlooked in this country for far too 

long. 

I want to commend you, Senator Kennedy and Senator Sessions, 

as well as Representatives Wolf and Scott, for your passionate, bipartisan leadership on this issue. We could not have, we could not 

ask for Congressional champions more dedicated to upholding the 

basic values of human dignity. 

The scourge of prison rape demands a response. Tragically, there 

are hundreds of thousands of Linda Bruntmyers, hundreds of thousands of mothers and fathers who see their children brutalized, victimized, and are unable to do anything about it. Tragically, there 

are hundreds of thousands of Rodney Hulins, too, those who are 

the victims and have nowhere to go for help and are caught up in 

a Kafka-esque system that grinds down their spirits and their bodies. 

12

No society that considers itself to be a moral and compassionate 

society can stand idly by the blood of our neighbors. We must 

speak out. That has brought us here and has led you to introduce 

and to further this legislation. 

We know the statistics. We have heard them here. But behind 

each of those are real human beings. We must not allow this terror 

to continue. 

The bill at issue today provides a responsible and measured approach to the problem, setting up mechanisms for the study, reporting, and prevention of prison rape. It promises to bring to the 

forefront this tragic plague that is too often a punchline and too 

rarely a subject of genuine concern in our civic life. 

Mark Earley spoke about some of the provisions of the bill. I was 

delighted to see also that it will set up a commission to deal in 

some depth with this. As one who is honored to have served as the 

chair of a Federal commission established by a unanimous Act of 

Congress, I can testify to the potential of such commissions to be 

a vitally effective goad to executive and legislative officials and to 

the public conscience. 

These reforms, if enacted, would for the first time signal a serious engagement with the problem by the Federal Government. 

Such an engagement is vital precisely because turning our back on 

prison rape not only violates the Eighth Amendment’s protection 

against cruel and unusual punishment, it also betrays our most 

fundamental moral values. 

I am here today to tell you that we can prevent prison rape. We 

must prevent prison rape. We can no longer stand idly by. 

From 1971 to 1973, I served as a volunteer chaplain in a Federal 

penitentiary in Danbury, Connecticut. It is a better facility as far 

as correctional facilities go, and yet even there, I counseled people 

who were the victims of sexual abuse and sexual assault, and 

there, for the first time, I encountered the response of prison officials, who said, ‘‘There is nothing that we can do.’’

Well, there is something we can do and that is what is uniting 

us here. Because of the profound moral clarity of the issue, a remarkable coalition of conscience has come together in support of 

your legislation—Jewish, mainline Protestant, Evangelical, Unitarian, civil rights, human rights, criminal justice reform advocates, health care professionals, youth workers, liberals, conservatives, and everyone in between, because we all believe that prison 

rape is wrong and that we can and must do something about it. 

Many of us work together frequently, some of us a little less commonly. For example, it is not so common for Reform Jews and conservative Evangelicals to find common ground to work together, 

but when we do, you can be sure that the issue at stake is one that 

cuts to the heart of a principle so basic that no reasonable person 

can stand in the way of its genuine manifestation. 

One of the Bible’s most radical innovations was to put forward 

the notion that human beings are created ‘‘b’tselem elohim,’’ ‘‘in the 

image of God.’’ The use of that divine image to describe the human 

state serves to raise up humankind to proclaim the infinite worth 

and potential of each individual person and the implications of 

such a concept are far-reaching and profound, imposing on individuals and societies the obligation never to stand by while others are 

13

degraded, to recognize the potential in all for redemption, and to 

assist the most vulnerable. 

That this includes the prisoner is reflected directly in the Bible. 

In Biblical times, there was not imprisonment for criminal activity, 

but the closest analogy we have—the status of those who were 

taken as prisoners captured in wartime—sees in Deuteronomy 

clear prohibitions against their abuse, including, according to the 

rabbis, rape of both men and women. Rape is a sin, a vile sin, in 

the Bible. It is at minimum a civil wrong requiring payment of 

damages by the perpetrator for compensation. The Bible recognizes 

the immense pain, suffering, shame, and blemish that those who 

are targeted and victimized are intended to suffer. In other places, 

rape is categorized as a capital offense. 

But we recognize that to allow the epidemic of prison rape to continue unabated is to reject the spirit of the divine that connects us 

all. Therefore, I urge the other members of this committee to join 

with you in passing out as soon as possible and bringing to the 

floor for passage the Prison Rape Reduction Act. We need to act expeditiously. For every day we delay, there are other Rodney Hulins 

who continue to be victimized, and that we can no longer accept. 

Senator KENNEDY. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Rabbi Saperstein appears as a submission for the record.] 

Senator KENNEDY. Mr. Dumond? 

STATEMENT OF ROBERT W. DUMOND, CLINICAL MENTAL 

HEALTH COUNSELOR, AND MEMBER, BOARD OF ADVISORS, 

STOP PRISONER RAPE, HUDSON, NEW HAMPSHIRE 

Mr. DUMOND. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Senator Sessions. 

I would like to thank the Senate Judiciary Committee for the opportunity to testify here today. I would also like to thank you, Senator Kennedy and Senator Sessions, for your leadership in proposing this historic legislation, as well as Congressmen Wolf and 

Scott. 

Prison rape has often been accepted as an inevitable consequence 

of incarceration. We cannot and must not allow this to occur. Your 

leadership will alleviate the agony of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of individuals who have suffered in silence. 

My name is Robert Dumond. I am a licensed clinical mental 

health counselor who for over 30 years has provided services to 

crime victims and offenders in a variety of settings, most notably 

within the office of the Essex County District Attorney Kevin 

Burke and the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. Having 

extensively researched prison sexual assault, I am here to provide 

a scientific context to this scandal. 

While everyone recognizes that sexual assault is a problem, the 

actual incidence of prison sexual assault in the United States is unknown. Currently, no national database exists. In 35 years, there 

have only been 15 empirically-based studies to study the problem 

and only two have included women. As you have heard, we have, 

however, a reliable baseline of incidence data to draw from, from 

two large studies of Midwestern prisons conducted by Cindy 

Struckman-Johnson and her colleagues. 

14

I know this is going to be repetitive, but I think it bears repeating. She found that 22 to 25 percent of the prisons are victims of 

sexual pressuring, attempted sexual assault, and completed rape. 

One in ten is going to experience a completed rape during the 

course of their incarceration. Two-thirds of those who reported 

were victimized repeatedly, an average of nine times. Some males 

experienced 100 incidents per year. Others experienced assaults 

daily. 

Using this data, it is reasonable to conclude that in States with 

larger, urban, more heterogeneous populations, the incidence would 

be much higher. This was demonstrated in a 1982 study of a California medium-security prison in which one in seven inmates reported being the victim of a completed rape. One of the goals of this 

legislation is to scientifically collect the actual incidents of prison 

sexual assault in institutions nationally. 

No inmate is immune from victimization. Certain inmates, however, appear to be especially vulnerable. These include the young, 

the inexperienced, first-time offenders, the mentally disabled, and 

homosexual and effeminate men, to name but a few. 

As you have heard, the crisis of being a sexual assault victim is 

global and devastating. In prison, however, it is even more debilitating. Victims often experience physical assaults as well as their 

attacks and they may experience repeated trauma. Once targeted, 

male victims may endure years of sexual slavery. 

The mental health consequences are catastrophic. Victims experience a variety of symptoms, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and exacerbation of preexisting psychiatric disorders, and they may also consider, attempt, or complete 

suicide as a means of alleviating their suffering. This is more disturbing when we realize that we currently house more individuals 

with mental illness in the United States in jails and prisons than 

collectively in the psychiatric facilities nationwide. In addition, 

most correctional facilities have few or inadequate services to treat 

victims carefully. 

As you have heard, the public health consequences are equally 

overwhelming. Victims may contract HIV, AIDS, other sexually 

transmitted diseases, other communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, which are rampant in corrections nationally. These may be spread to others in the prison population 

and to the general community. 

Prison sexual assault destabilizes the safety and security of 

American jails and prisons. For over 25 years, it has been recognized as a contributing factor in prison homicides, institutional violence, and riots. Administrative and programmatic solutions have 

long been recommended but too often ignored. Many prison administrators have been largely unaccountable for the sexual assaults 

committed under their care. 

The study you heard of by Joanne Mariner of Human Rights 

Watch in 2001 surveyed 50 State correctional departments and the 

Federal Bureau of Prisons. Her study confirms this denial. Effective management can only be implemented when we have accurate 

data. Only 23 of 46 corrections departments currently maintain 

statistics about sexual assault. None of the States that reported 

had statistics that were in any way consistent with the two largeVerDate Mar 21 2002 09:32 Jun 18, 2003 Jkt 087677 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\HEARINGS\87677.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
15

scale studies of Struckman-Johnson. Staff training has long been 

recognized as a vital issue in addressing the problem. Only six 

States currently and the Federal Bureau of Prisons provide such 

training. Criminal prosecutions are virtually nonexistent. 

This legislation provides a tangible, comprehensive strategy to 

address the complex challenges of prison sexual assault. With accurate incidence data, correctional managers can make rational decisions about staff deployment, resource allocation, inmate placement, thereby improving the safety and security of America’s jails 

and prisons. This is also a crisis which can be managed without 

significant monetary expenditures. The bill’s emphasis on visibility 

and accountability will be highly effective. Prison officials with 

records of poor practice will be held accountable for their inaction 

and deliberate indifference. The National Prison Rape Reduction 

Commission will also play a key role in developing reasonable 

standards of care for providing staff training, treatment of victims, 

and ensuring the best professional practice. 

Stop Prisoner Rape endorses this legislation as a critical step in 

curbing one of the most pervasive and devastating abuses that has 

been allowed to continue in the United States. They and I urge 

your support. Prison rape is preventable. Prison rape is predictable. We have ignored this problem for much too long. Hundreds 

of thousands of prisoners, many of whom are the most vulnerable, 

have silently endured these crimes. We have the technology. We 

have the resources and the means to address this issue. But we 

have lacked the political will to implement the remedy. Please, 

please do not allow this scandal to continue. My heartfelt thanks 

for your time and attention. 

Senator KENNEDY. Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Dumond appears as a submission for the record.] 

Senator KENNEDY. I thank all our panel for excellent testimony. 

Ms. Bruntmyer, let me ask you, after you went through this horrific experience, were you able to reach out to anyone or was anyone able to reach out to you? Have you been able to work with different groups where there are other families that have lost loved 

ones, or have you felt sort of solitary in this whole crisis? What 

could you tell us about the efforts that have been made to reach 

out to you or that you have tried to work with other kinds of individuals who might similarly be affected? 

Have you been able to do it, or has it just been too difficult emotionally? If your answer to that was, it has just been too difficult, 

I certainly would understand it. But I am just wondering how you 

have been able to survive and how you have been able to deal with 

this. 

Ms. BRUNTMYER. I have a support group that I do in my home 

for families. I do help them with their children, their loved ones in 

prison to know what is the process of sending a book, how to sit 

down and write a letter. We were told, when we went through it 

with Rodney, we have no rights. We found out we do have rights 

and Rodney had rights. We did not know that. And today, we try 

to save kids. We try to help them. We are there for the families. 

Senator KENNEDY. It would certainly seem that as this commission is set up to try and sort of develop this kind of understanding 

16

of what is happening, that they would certainly spend some time 

with you and your group and other similar groups to be able to see 

what can be done to provide help and assistance to you and to the 

other groups and what can be done in terms of taking steps to prevent this. 

Let me ask just the panel, in listening to all of you, I gather 

there is sort of this culture of tolerance that is out there. How do 

you break through that cultural tolerance? How do you think that 

that can be done? We can get the information. We can get the statistics. We can get the training. I suppose included in that is the 

prosecution, perhaps even, in terms of individuals who tolerate this 

or knowingly let this go by. 

How do you think, as people that have seen this, thought about 

it, talked about it, studied it, how do you break through this sort 

of culture? What ideas or suggestions do you have in this area? 

Mr. DUMOND. Senator, I would like to address that by addressing 

a couple of issues. You have heard the strong moral argument, 

which has been articulated, and clearly, we have to keep maintaining the fact that this can occur to any individual who is incarcerated in the United States. 

Senator KENNEDY. Right. 

Mr. DUMOND. As an aside, there but for the grace of God go I. 

Any one of us in this room, had we had the kind of experience that 

many of these men and women had, could have been incarcerated. 

A second issue which I think may be effective is the cost-benefit analysis. We currently expend an average of about $20,000 to 

$22,000 to $25,000 minimally for each inmate each year. When you 

consider maximum-security prisons, that cost can escalate to 

$75,000 to $80,000. From a cost-benefit analysis, does society do 

itself a disservice by allowing for prison sexual assault when these 

individuals, A) will get out, B) will harm other people, and C) return back to prison? So the cost-benefit analysis, I think, clearly 

has to be considered as a major factor, and that can be instrumental in causing a sort of a change or a sea change of how our 

attitude about this issue. 

Rabbi SAPERSTEIN. Let me also add two things. The first is, putting a human face on this crisis is indispensable to raising the conscience of the country. If everyone in the nation could take 3 minutes and listen to Linda Bruntmyer tell her story, it would transform the way this would be dealt with. 

But structurally, the inclusion in this legislation of the commission, whose job it will be to help accumulate the statistics, along 

with the Attorney General and the Justice Department, whose job 

it will be to hold hearings on this—there is not a single community 

in the country where you could not go and hear a variant of the 

tragic story that we heard today. And if that commission is doing 

its job and holding hearings around the country, getting attention 

in the local papers, it will be an indispensable component to raising 

the consciousness of the nation and mobilizing local legislators like 

yourself to follow in your footsteps here, to begin to look for legislative steps to take at the local and the State level, as well, where 

really much of this job must be done. 

And that, I think, is the brilliance of this legislation, that it really aims to empower the States, not to force the States to do things, 

17

but to empower the States to act effectively in this arena, giving 

them the tools, the training, the guidelines, the experience of best 

practices across the country, and the information necessary to do 

that. 

So in very real ways, Senator Kennedy, the answer to your question is your legislation. 

Senator KENNEDY. Thank you. 

Mr. EARLEY. Senator, I was going to mention the same thing. I 

do not think you can underestimate the fact that simply because 

now this legislation has been proposed and it has such a broad coalition of support and it is a bipartisan effort in the Senate and in 

the Congress, I think the actual barrier has been broken. Today, 

with two million people in prison in America, you do not have to 

go far to touch a family that is impacted by crime or who has a 

son or daughter or mother or father or husband or wife in prison. 

I think with the establishment of a national commission and 

being able to have actually some concrete data—you heard we have 

only had, what, 15 studies in 35 years—that is going to enable this. 

I think the decency of the American people is such that once this 

is clearly articulated by its national leaders at the national level, 

there will be a profound systematic change that can occur rather 

quickly. 

Senator KENNEDY. Let me ask you, Mr. Earley, again on this federalism issue, could you talk about this for another moment or two. 

I know the administration is looking this legislation over and making up its mind and I know this would be something that they will 

be interested in. Senator Sessions has obviously had a long tradition on the issues of federalism and it seems to me we have tried 

to deal with this question. I would be interested, as a former Attorney General, your own view of whether you think this is a fair balance. 

Mr. EARLEY. I think it is. In fact, I think it is more than balanced. I mean, the Congress could, I believe, based on the Farmer 

case, approach this issue with a much bigger stick. I do not think 

it needs to. I think it is taking the right approach, and as I mentioned in my comments, this legislation, I think, is carefully crafted. 

It requires the States to do nothing. It has no unfunded mandates. It even has an opt-out provision. The only punitive issue in 

this bill, and it would be wrong to call it punitive, is it withholds 

certain Federal monies if the State decides to opt out of the standards that would be articulated by the commission to the Attorney 

General of the United States and then adopted by the Attorney 

General. 

So again, I think it strikes just the right balance, and I do not 

think, having served with the Attorneys General for the last 4 

years, this is an issue that is important to all of them, Democrats 

and Republicans, the federalism issue, and I do not think you will 

hear that as an objection to this bill because of the thought that 

has gone into crafting it. I commend you on that, because that is 

tough. 

Let me just finally ask, I would be interested if you find some 

places or institutions that are particularly noteworthy, it might be 

useful. I do not know whether it comes to mind now, but I think 

18

as this moves along, if you find that there are some that are particularly noteworthy, we ought to try and highlight those. I do not 

know whether we would get a chance to go visit or whatever, but 

we would be glad to hear about them. I think it is important that 

we try and give some focus and attention and recognition to those 

that are really doing a good job on this, and I think in this way 

attempt to encourage others to try and sort of do that. 

Mr. DUMOND. Mr. Chairman, just as a model to consider, since 

1979, the San Francisco jail under Michael Markum has had very 

strong commitment to preventing prisoner sexual assault. It has a 

long tradition of identifying this as a problem, of noting it to new 

inmates who are coming in, of making people aware. 

Also, one of the telling things about Mariner’s report was that it 

identified that in institutions where there was a zero-tolerance attitude from the top, this problem was not manifest with the same 

degree that we have seen in some of the statistics. So clearly, there 

are corrections environments that are doing a good job, that are 

handling this in a responsible manner. We need to use those as 

models and certainly consider them as we craft what we are going 

to do from this point on. 

Senator KENNEDY. I think that is an excellent response, particularly to those that say, well, this is just going to happen so they 

cannot do anything about it. It is inevitable. This is the way it has 

been for no matter how many hundred years and it is going to be 

that way in the future. If we are able to identify those institutions 

that are really making a difference on it, and no one underestimates the complexity and the difficulty of doing it, but those that 

are making systematic progress on it, we ought to do everything we 

can to highlight it or mention it. We invite all of you and those that 

are going to be reading through the record on this to be in touch 

with House sponsors and Senator Sessions and myself so that we 

can try and highlight those that are doing a good job. 

Senator Sessions? 

Senator SESSIONS. Thank you. 

Ms. Bruntmyer, thank you for sharing that story with us. It is 

just very, very moving and all of us who have played a role in the 

criminal justice system in America cannot feel good that there are 

others also that suffered as Rodney did. 

He was sentenced, even though he was young, as an adult, is 

that correct, and was sent to adult prison? 

Ms. BRUNTMYER. Yes, sir. 

Rabbi SAPERSTEIN. Mr. Chairman, one of the things when we 

had our juvenile crime bill, I favored expanding juvenile jails and 

some people criticized that as saying you want to lock up young 

people. But really, what most people are failing to realize is we are 

certifying as adults a much, much larger of young people than we 

ever have before. The main reason is there is not enough space in 

the juvenile system. So I just say that. I think we could do better 

by expanding our juvenile system. 

Do you think, Mr. Dumond, that juvenile facilities are more protective of the people there than maybe an adult prison, or it depends? 

Mr. DUMOND. I would like to say yes, Senator. The evidence does 

not seem to appear the case. 

19

Senator SESSIONS. Really? 

Mr. DUMOND. There has really been a paucity of studies in juvenile facilities. One of the studies that was done was done by Ken 

Wooden, ‘‘Weeping in the Playtime of Others,’’ in 1976. Also, 

Bartollas and Sieveides did a study of juvenile institutions. Forst, 

Fagan and Vivona in 1989 were able to identify that juvenile institutions, individuals in juvenile institutions were five times more 

likely to be sexually assaulted than others. 

So clearly, I think this is not a problem where we designed a system to be better protective of our juveniles. I think many of you 

are aware, in the local media here in Washington, there has been 

an outcry about a number of young people who have been sexually 

assaulted while in foster care. I think that is endemic of the kind 

of situation that occurs nationally. 

Senator Kennedy certainly will remember in our own home State 

of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the training schools in 

part were closed because there were allegations, serious allegations, of sexual assault and misconduct against some of the juveniles. 

So clearly, this is not a problem where—I would like to say, yes, 

we have protected children better. We have not. 

Senator SESSIONS. Does our legislation, in your view, is it comprehensive enough to cover surveys of juvenile facilities also? 

Mr. DUMOND. Again, I am not sure——

Senator SESSIONS. We may need to look at that and make sure 

that that is——

Mr. DUMOND. That may be something we want to——

Senator SESSIONS [continuing]. Clearly covered, because we need 

to know that. 

Mr. Earley, let me ask you, to follow up on Mr. Dumond’s suggestion that there are prisons that are a lot better than others, do you 

think that is true and do you agree that with strong leadership, 

that incidents of sexual abuse could be dramatically reduced? 

Mr. EARLEY. I do. I think in any organization, whether it is a 

prison system or anything else, the signal that is sent down from 

the top, you cannot overestimate its significance. 

One of the things in this bill that will help in the long run is that 

you all have put in a requirement that those organizations that accredit correctional facilities throughout the United States will have 

now as part of its new regimen of deciding accreditation what these 

institutions are doing for this problem. So that is going to require, 

as well as, I think, the desire of those who run the prisons—I do 

not think they are much different than us and I think if they are 

focused on this problem with strong leadership, it will make a huge 

difference. 

Senator SESSIONS. Mr. Dumond? 

Mr. DUMOND. Senator Sessions, I would like to add to Mr. 

Earley’s comments. In regards to professionalization, corrections in 

America was vastly improved in the 1960’s because it took a very 

hard look at the way it handled itself. By providing for intensive 

training, by professionalizing what it did, by accrediting and having accreditation agencies that would sponsor an examination of 

agencies, we were able to make corrections better. 

20

It is a glaring example of how we have failed and denied this 

issue that the American Correctional Association, for example, does 

not have a current standard regarding sexual assault. There is a 

standard, again, for the record to be considered, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care has had a standard regarding 

sexual assault since about 1986. So certainly, this is an issue that 

when we set the tone, when we raise the bar, it is likely that we 

will get a positive response. 

Senator SESSIONS. For the correctional officers who go through 

training and certification to meet certain standards, are you satisfied that they receive enough training on this subject or do you 

think they do not? 

Mr. DUMOND. Absolutely not. I guess I am proud to say, and 

again, Senator Kennedy will support me on this, I believe, Massachusetts was one of the first States to provide for intensive training 

of its correctional staff. We did this back in 1994. And as I indicated, I think Massachusetts has done a fairly good job. Can it be 

better? Absolutely. But certainly, we are eons ahead of what many 

States are currently doing, and, in fact, many States are doing 

nothing. 

Senator SESSIONS. What about the standards? Exactly how would 

you articulate what a good standard should be and how would that 

affect behavior in a prison? 

Mr. DUMOND. I think that is an excellent question, Senator. No. 

1, any standard that is articulated or promulgated has to be empirically based. I think we have to have sound scientific data to attach and identify so that we make our standards responsive to the 

data that we now understand. 

Second, we have to implement an ongoing training system. One 

of the things that is built in nationally to corrections, every correctional staff in almost every State Department of Corrections and in 

the Federal Bureau of Prisons must take about 40 hours of comprehensive training each year to update their skills. We have the 

mechanisms and the tools to impact upon this in a very substantive 

manner. We now need the curricula and we need to provide that 

to corrections training officers so that this is something that corrections officers will identify. 

As an aside, Nacci and Kane, who were researchers with the 

Federal Bureau of Prisons, back in 1982, 1983, and 1984 identified 

that staff training was an essential ingredient and part of the problem. They also identified that one of the issues that has been largely overlooked, many corrections officers look at sexual assault or 

sexual events that occur in prison and assume that it is consensual. By doing that, they are really avoiding and denying the fact 

that many of these individuals are coerced into being sexually assaulted on an ongoing basis. 

We have to have a complete understanding of the severity of this 

issue. We have to hold people accountable who are corrections officers and correctional managers. If you are not doing your job, you 

will be held accountable for that. 

Senator SESSIONS. Now, on a standard, this would tell a correctional officer, if they have a complaint from an inmate or a concern 

of an inmate or an expression of concern by a guard that something 

21

may be unhealthy going on, it would help them to have a step for 

them to take that would be objective and professionally based. 

Mr. DUMOND. Exactly. 

Senator SESSIONS. Do you think that the key to reducing prison 

rape would be to listen and make it absolutely clear from the beginning of a person’s incarceration that if they feel threatened or 

are threatened that they should report it, and something does happen to protect them? 

Mr. DUMOND. That something will, in fact, occur. There are a 

number of steps that we need to do. Even educating inmates themselves when they come into prison that they may be sexually victimized, that is a way to empower them to handle the situation. 

One of the tasks that has been identified and one of the issues 

that many inmates confront, when they come to prison, they often 

have nothing. What they do is other prisoners will give them 

things, and then when they cannot pay them back, they will be 

forced to give sexual favors to pay them back. That is something 

that an inmate who has never been in prison before needs to know, 

and that is something that they need to be able to address, and 

also that the outcome will be taken seriously. 

If I come to you as a correctional staff person and I say, ‘‘I have 

been sexually assaulted,’’ you will take me seriously. You will try 

to provide me with protection. You will try to move me out of that 

particular unit. You will try to get me some mental health or medical treatment for my injuries, and you will help me from being victimized in the future. Unfortunately, as you have heard, this is not 

the case for many inmates. 

Senator SESSIONS. Mr. Earley, you said that we ought to be 

tough on crime, and were not not being tough on crime, and you 

are exactly correct. In fact, when we do not prosecute people who 

sexually assault someone, whether they are in prison or not, we are 

being soft on crime, do you not agree? 

Mr. EARLEY. Absolutely. 

Senator SESSIONS. I mean, it is a crime just as much to assault 

somebody sexually in prison as out of prison as a matter of law, 

is it not? 

Mr. EARLEY. Right, and many times, it can be more aggravated 

because that person in prison has a loss of control and they are dependent upon the State much more for their security. 

Senator SESSIONS. With regard to that, do you feel that when the 

State takes a person’s liberty and places them where they do not 

desire to be—in the slammer—that they have a particular responsibility to see that they are not subjected to extra-legal actions and 

punishments? 

Mr. EARLEY. Absolutely. I think Mr. Dumond made an important 

point, and all of us who have been involved in government are 

aware of this. Unfortunately, in all of our institutions where we require people to be against their will, whether it is mental health 

institutions, juvenile detention facilities, or jails, we have a systemic problem with people oftentimes being exposed to dangers 

that they would not be exposed to on the outside and being taken 

advantage of. 

In many cases, in prisons, for example, we have looked the other 

way because of this sort of prevailing public attitude and we have, 

22

I think, perhaps all been guilty of it, and that is, well, you know, 

they are in prison. They deserve what they get. I think the decency 

of the American people, the decency of people who run our institutions can be appealed to and it can be put a stop to. 

Mr. DUMOND. Mr. Sessions, one of the things that you may also 

be aware of, if you were to talk to any corrections officer who was 

new to corrections and you asked them what the mission of corrections would be, they will tell you three things. It is the care, custody, and control of inmates. Clearly, having and allowing for the 

sexual assault of inmates under the care of the jurisdiction of a 

governmental agency does not meet the requirement of care, custody, and control. So we are actually violating the basic mission of 

American corrections by not addressing this problem. 

Senator SESSIONS. I believe there is one more thing that was 

mentioned previously—I believe you did, Mr. Dumond, and maybe 

you, Mr. Earley—that somehow, some in the prison system might 

see prison rape as a management tool. What do you mean by that? 

Mr. DUMOND. Just for the record, that is not my statement, but 

I will tell you that the research has been very strong in indicating 

and many analysts have suggested that it is a way to control the 

competing forces within a prison environment, and I will give you 

an example. 

If I have some strong inmates who then can be sexually satiated 

with weaker inmates and I can get them to conform to the prison 

institution by allowing this to take place, then I can manage my 

institution in a better fashion. Clearly, that is inappropriate, and 

clearly, that is wrong and can never be accepted. But that has been 

suggested by some very serious analysts, including Dr. Jim 

Gilligan, also of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, who is a forensic psychiatrist, in his book in 1997, Violence: An American Epidemic. He suggests very strongly that there may have been a collusion by correctional institutions in allowing for prison sexual assault to occur as a management tool. 

Senator SESSIONS. Mr. Earley? 

Mr. EARLEY. Senator Sessions, if I could, I did not read this because of time, but this is just a brief excerpt. An L.A. Times article 

in 1999 reported the case of Eddie Dillard, a 23-year-old gang 

member from Los Angeles, which is a frightening example of what 

you were just talking about. Dillard was serving time for assault 

with a deadly weapon when he kicked a female guard. He was 

transferred to the cell of Wayne Robertson, known within prison 

walls as the ‘‘booty bandit.’’ Robertson was an enforcer for the 

guards, helping them rein in troublesome newcomers while officials 

looked the other way. 

When Dillard protested the transfer, he was told, ‘‘Since you like 

hitting women, we have got somebody for you.’’ Robertson, the person to whom he was transferred in with, beat, raped, and tortured 

Dillard for days. The guards were later criminally charged, and 

while they were ultimately acquitted, there was no dispute as to 

the facts, merely as to whether or not liability extended to prison 

officials. So I think that is an example. 

Senator SESSIONS. And it would indicate to me that that prison 

is out of control, would you not agree? 

Mr. EARLEY. It certainly was during that time. 

23

Senator SESSIONS. The inmates are running the prison. That is 

not the way the system should be and I hope that is not too common, but I am afraid it is more common than we would like to 

admit. 

Rabbi Saperstein, thank you for your leadership on this issue. 

You spoke very clearly that even though a person might be housed 

behind bars, they are the same creature of God that they were before they went in and will be the same as they will be when they 

are out. I think every human being is entitled to safe conditions, 

even in prison. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your leadership on this issue. You 

are champion of a lot of issues of this kind. It is important, and 

I have enjoyed very much working with you. 

Senator KENNEDY. I thank you, Senator Sessions. We are reminded by our panel and others that this is a long-standing problem. Listening to this, we always ask ourselves why we have not 

been able to get on this before. But having said that, I think we 

can give the assurance to our panelists and those who are represented that we are committed to getting something done and we 

want to work with all of you and others to try and make sure that 

what we are going to do is going to be meaningful and we are going 

to keep at it. That is what Senator Sessions wants to do, what I 

want to do, and so we are in for the duration of this and we want 

to try to make a difference. I believe we can. 

Senator SESSIONS. Mr. Chairman, I would offer Senator Hatch’s 

statement, who is a supporter of this legislation, also. 

Senator KENNEDY. The statement will be included in the record. 

All statements will be included. Very good. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Hatch appears as a submission for the record.] 

Senator KENNEDY. The committee will stand in recess. Thanks 

very much. 

[Whereupon, at 2:46 p.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

[Submissions for the record follow:]

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