Gov. Perry Defies Federal Rape Prevention Law To Save Money

Governor Perry has formally notified Attorney General Eric Holder that Texas will not be implementing provisions required by the new Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).

The law was unanimously approved by Congress and signed into law over a decade ago, but federal standards for its implementation were not completed until 2012 and states have been given until May 15 of this year to comply. However, according to Perry that’s a deadline that is “impossible to meet.”

In a formal letter, Perry explained to Holder that Texas could not afford to implement the program, writing

“Washington has taken an opportunity to help address a problem in our prisons and jails, but instead created a counterproductive and unnecessarily cumbersome regulatory mess for the states. I encourage the administration to change these standards and do so soon. Absent standards that acknowledge the operational realities of our prisons and jails, I will not sign your form (certifying compliance with the act) and I will encourage my fellow governors to follow suit.”

While his refusal does leave him open to criminal prosecution, federal officials have indicated that they are not planning on charging Perry with a crime at this time and are opting, instead, to meet with Texas officials to try and resolve the dispute.

Perry’s problems with the law are three-fold according to his three page letter to Holder.

First he claims he lacks proper funding to comply with the rules preventing “cross-gender viewing” of inmates as 40 percent of the correctional officers currently serving in male prisons are women, as reported by My San Antonio.

Second, Perry is claiming the law violates Texas’ sovereignty by infringing on “Texas’ right to establish the state’s own age of criminal responsibility” by requiring the state to house juveniles 17-years-old and younger apart from adults “with no discernible benefit to the state or its inmates.”

Third: Perry claims hardship in implementing new staffing requirements in some lockup facilities. Perry noted in his letter that while the new ratios might be ideal, the new law also increases staffing requirements in some lockups. Separating prisoners would require additional lockups and staffing — as many as 30 additional officers at one county jail, Perry said. While the new ratios “the decision of what constitutes appropriate staff ratios should be left to each state and to those professionals with operational knowledge.”

The Star Telegram adds that “Perry also criticized a suggestion from a consultant that prisons remove some security cameras, calling it ridiculous,” writing:

“Doing so would not only be a security risk for both prisoners and staff but also increase the likelihood of assaults taking place, defeating the intent of the law.”

According to the Star Telegram: “States that do not comply could lose federal grant dollars. Three grants that totaled $23.9 million last year could face partial cuts, Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said. But, she said, Texas has not been told how much money could be at stake.”

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