Nation
Sex abuse by prison guards violates incarcerated people's rights. How is that not obvious?
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Jesse Shannon said he was incarcerated at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 2011 when a correction officer sexually abused him.
Shannon filed a lawsuit in 2013 against a group of prison officials, alleging that a correction officer had, on four occasions, grabbed him inappropriately and aggressively while conducting a pat frisk in an invasive manner unrelated to any legitimate search for contraband.
Shannon alleged that he reported the abuse to supervisors, but that they failed to act. On the contrary, Shannon said, they retaliated against him by fabricating a misbehavior report.
Despite his persistent efforts to protect his civil rights, Shannon was ultimately denied justice. A federal appeals court in New York dismissed his case, granting qualified immunity to the officer and the other officials.
“Although the conduct alleged in the amended complaint is reprehensible both then and now, when it occurred in 2011,” the court said, “our precedent did not establish that such conduct was clearly unconstitutional.”
Permanent daylight saving time? Big government better keep its hands off my watch!
Sergey Shtilman, a transgender woman held in a men’s prison in New York, encountered a similar roadblock after she accused correction officers of sexual abuse.
Shtilman filed a lawsuit in 2014 alleging numerous instances of mistreatment due to being transgender, including an incident of what she claims was sexual assault.
Four years later, her claim was dismissed. The court said the officers were entitled to qualified immunity because existing precedent at the time did not “place the constitutional question beyond debate.”
This is an outrage. Shannon and Shtilman deserve their day in court, as do other victims and survivors who have been harmed by officers.
Justice elusive for those who are incarcerated
In the year that I have chaired the New York State Senate’s Standing Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction, I have visited numerous correctional facilities in New York and met with incarcerated individuals and staff, including the women’s prisons of Bedford Hills and Albion and Rosie’s on Rikers Island, a women’s jail.
I have also received countless letters and phone calls from incarcerated individuals or their family members across the state. They have shared devastating stories on the harmful, pervasive impact of sexual assault in our state’s prison system.
I am acutely aware of how difficult it is for any sexual assault survivor to obtain redress, even outside of the jail or prison system. It can be especially difficult and dangerous for incarcerated individuals to pursue justice when their abuser happens to be a correction officer. And this is in large part because of qualified immunity.
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Qualified immunity is a doctrine created by the Supreme Court that shields government officials from accountability when they misuse their power. It’s a main contributor to the erosion of public safety in our communities, and it has played a troubling part in the humanitarian crisis in our prisons.
I believe it’s time to end this crisis by ending qualified immunity.
The state’s Senate held a public hearing this month to discuss the impact of sexual assault in the prison system, which I chaired in collaboration with my colleague, Sen. Alessandra Biaggi. We are both co-sponsors of S1991, a bill to end qualified immunity in New York, because we believe government actors entrusted with the care of New Yorkers should be held to the same standard of the law, if not a higher one, as anyone else.
Culture of impunity pervades our jails and prisons
Sexual assault of an incarcerated individual is a grave violation of civil rights. Yet thanks to qualified immunity, government officials such as correction officers can get away with the most vile abuses simply because a victim fails to find and cite a similar enough prior case from the same jurisdiction. It’s mind-boggling how unethical this legal loophole is.
Qualified immunity breeds a repugnant culture of impunity that is rampant among officials in state jails and prisons. The lack of systemic accountability emboldens bad correction officers to degrade, humiliate and attack vulnerable people, men and women alike, who have a higher exposure to trauma before entering prison than most people who have never been incarcerated.
Incarcerated individuals deserve to be treated with dignity. They have basic human rights that we must uphold.
All incarcerated people who claim to have been subjected to horrific sexual assaults or brutal misconduct by correctional staff deserve the opportunity to obtain justice. But qualified immunity makes that impossible in many cases, as it creates a nearly insurmountable barrier to justice that prevents cases from being fully heard in the court system.
Passing S1991 and ending qualified immunity will prevent sexual predators in positions of power from continuing to get away with their abuse. Making it law would remind government officials of their obligation to honorably serve the people.
New York Sen. Julia Salazar, a Democrat, represents the state’s 18th District, including the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick, Cypress Hills, Greenpoint and Williamsburg, as well as parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville and East New York.
This column is part of a series by the USA TODAY Opinion team examining the issue of qualified immunity. The project is made possible in part by a grant from Stand Together. Stand Together does not provide editorial input.
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Uber, Lyft made safety improvements, but many of those protect riders more than drivers. But drivers are also in danger.
Naomi Ogutu
Opinion contributor
I’ve been a rideshare driver in New York City for six years, and I take pride in my job and helping my passengers get where they need to go safely. But my safety is not a guarantee. I’m a mom of three. I need to know that I’ll make it home to my kids at the end of each night.
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Business
'A bad déjà vu': Under the crush of Western sanctions, Russians fear a return to dark economic days
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Harsh sanctions from Western nations on Russia have reminded citizens of the country’s 1998 debt crisis.
By Anna Nemtsova
USA TODAY
- McDonalds and other American businesses have closed in Russia amid its invasion into Ukraine.
- One expert estimates more than 200,000 Russians have left the country since the start of the war.
- To counter economic turmoil, Putin has demand “unfriendly” countries pay for natural gas exports in rubles.
The once bustling corner of Moscow’s central Tverskaya Street looked deserted on Wednesday, as Russia’s first-ever McDonald’s franchise – opened in 1990 in a move that symbolized the Soviet Union’s opening to the West – shut its doors.
A large mural depicting a giant, Soviet-era medal – the Order of Victory, the highest military decoration awarded in World War II — loomed over over the empty sidewalk.
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The lone No. 1 seed still alive heading into the Elite Eight, Kansas needs only a win against No. 10 Miami (Fla.) to book a spot in the Final Four.
No. 2 Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski can make one last Final Four and chase one final national championship by beating No. 4 Arkansas.
No. 2 Villanova can reach the national semifinals for the third time in six tournaments by winning what should be a defense-dominated brawl against No. 5 Houston.
And after beating No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet 16, No. 8 North Carolina is one win from reaching the Final Four under first-year coach Hubert Davis.
If everything goes according to plan, this year’s Final Four will consist of some of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
But the last week has taught us that this year’s NCAA Tournament will inevitably deviate from the script.
So look for the Jayhawks to be shocked in the Elite Eight, as the Bill Self collection of tournament collapses adds another painful chapter. Based on how things have gone through three rounds, Arkansas is a lock to send Krzyzewski into retirement one game shy of the Final Four. Villanova may be a two-time champion under Jay Wright, but the Wildcats will be smothered by Houston.
And, of course, the Tar Heels will lose to the team that embodies the wackiness and uncertainty of this entire tournament.
Saint Peter’s stands at the precipice of another outlandish achievement: being the first No. 15 seed — the first seed lower than No. 11, in fact — to reach the Final Four.
The Peacocks will be the underdog once again come Sunday, when they’ll match against a deeper and more talented opponent with decades of history to more than overshadow the Peacocks’ three-game run.
But beating another college basketball giant will simply take what we already know the Peacocks can bring to the table: Saint Peter’s reached the Elite Eight with energy, aggressiveness and composure, following the model set by unflappable coach Shaheen Holloway, and that same combination will give the Peacocks a chance at etching themselves into an even more permanent place in NCAA Tournament history.
“We’re happy but don’t mistake, we’re not satisfied, we’re not satisfied at all,” said guard Doug Edert. “The job is not finished. We feel like we belong and the more games we win the more confidence we build.”
That sounds like bad news for the Tar Heels, who might’ve righted the ship after a poor start to ACC play but could be the latest blueblood to the Peacocks’ formula.
At some point, the magic has to run out — for Saint Peter’s, which somehow keeps stacking upsets of higher-ranked opponents, and for the tournament at large, which has been wackier than ever but could suddenly snap back to the status quo.
But this March has not gone according to plan. Several big names lost early. Others failed to get out of the second round. The story of this year’s tournament has been upsets, shockers, letdowns, unpredictable officiating and unpredictability, period — why should the next two days be any different?
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg
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