Betty Justice: Rape is not a permitted job activity

[theHandpuppet]

The Charleston (WV) Gazette
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Betty Justice: Rape is not a permitted job activity
By Betty Justice

A female prisoner was repeatedly raped by her jailer, and the government that employed the jailer has decided that it has no responsibility for any harm caused by its employee.

Most Americans would automatically think: “Oh, that kind of lawless behavior by government employees is something that happens in third-world countries.” Fellow West Virginians, that third-world approach comes from the State of West Virginia.

The state Supreme Court recently ruled that a prisoner raped multiple times by a correctional officer cannot sue the state over the behavior of its employee. The fact that the correctional officer was acting on the state’s behalf as the custodian of the prisoner and committed the rapes against her on state time and on state property was deemed irrelevant. The extent of the harm to the victim was also irrelevant to the court’s decision. The bottom line is that the victim has no right to go through the court house door — that access to the courts of West Virginia to have her claim of harm at the hands of the state heard is unavailable. The state is not liable for what its employees do.

Torture of persons held in government custody is universally condemned in all civilized societies. Rape is universally recognized as a form of torture and is specifically addressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. By definition, a person in the custody of a government cannot give free consent. It is also a universal human right that individuals must have access to forums to seek redress of violations of rights suffered in government custody....
See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140415/ARTICLE/140419639/1103#sthash.rkMVRSFo.dpuf

[seabeyond]

1. rape at will. imprison and the woman cant get away, and rape away. nt

[maddezmom]

2. What a disgusting mess, here is another article

http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140407/ARTICLE/140409512

The state Supreme Court says the West Virginia Regional Jail Authority cannot be sued by a woman prisoner who alleges that a guard raped her 17 times in 2009.

We wish this case had gone to trial, so West Virginians could hear the contradictory claims and try to fathom the truth about their jail system. Here are facts from the court record, as related by reporter Travis Crum:

The woman, identified as “A.B.,” was sentenced in 2006 to the Southern Regional Jail at Beaver, Raleigh County, for having sex with her boyfriend’s 14-year-old son. She was paroled, but violated parole and was returned to the lockup in 2008.

A.B. alleges that, in the fall of 2009, a guard identified as “D.H.” raped her on 17 occasions. However, D.H. denied it, saying the woman “improperly propositioned him, asking if he would be willing to ‘trade a favor for a favor.’”

Another woman prisoner claimed that A.B. assaulted her, giving her a black eye — and that A.B. and the guard were having a sexual affair. The guard denied any sex acts.

When this case came before Kanawha Circuit Judge Carrie Webster, she ruled that the Regional Jail Authority could be sued. However, the Supreme Court reversed her, saying the authority can’t be blamed because, if any rapes occurred, the guard wasn’t acting within the scope of his employment. It added that the jail had no rules against rape, so the guard didn’t violate a jail regulation.

- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140407/ARTICLE/140409512#sthash.MhrZh2iz.dpuf

Stunning that you need to have a rule against rape.

[Orrex]

3. If the rapist had instead been raped while on the job, would he seek worker's comp?

That is, if he doesn't represent his employer when performing his duties, does he have standing to request compensation from that employer if he's injured while performing his duties?


Entirely fucked up. Way to go, WV.

[Ohio Joe]

4. What war on women? What rape culture?

Time after time... Case after case... Example after example... Still the denial will come. They will make up some moronic justification to calm their fears, explaining this away as somehow these woman's fault for being raped and beaten... Or perhaps try and explain it away as some type of isolated incident... A few will try to lie about statistics to prove that rapes like these are actually being done by women... Certainly we will see them claim it is really men who are raped more often, so they are the truly oppressed, completely ignoring the fact that it is still men doing the raping.

The same group who show up in every thread, doing their very best to fight against equality.

So very, very fucked up.

[CFLDem]

5. It is very fucked up

and shameful.

[1StrongBlackMan]

6. Thankfully, all hope is not lost ...

She (the victim) still has a path to justice ... in Federal Court, via a 1983 Action. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1983

And Federal Courts, typically, have far less problem permitting plaintiffs to proceed against a state, than states have permitting plaintiffs from suing itself.

That said, and not having read the state SC's opinion, I wonder why the victim's attorney opted for state court rather than the obvious Federal path?

And, "The jail doesn't have a rule against jailer/prisoner rape" is a plain, and flat out, ridiculous argument ... the Justice that wrote that in an opinion should, rightfully, be laughed off the bench. But then, aren't W.VA Supreme Court Justices elected officials and didn't they have a mini-scandal a couple of years back with a clearly "purchased" decision (involving a coal magnate?)

[geardaddy]

7. Evil.

and wretched.

[lark]

8. I. FEEL. ILL.

How far we have fallen! WV has now been added to the list of states I don't want to go to, or even go through, if possible.

[theHandpuppet]

9. And believe it or not...

Three of the five Justices are Democrats, including two women, one of whom serves as Chief Justice.

Sometimes words fail....