New York prison guards raped female inmates at two Western New York correction facilities. Williams was an inmate who died after allegedly being and beaten at a state prison on the day he was set to be released from prison after serving a year for assault and theft charges. Daniel Williams died after he was allegedly tied up, beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted over the course of two to three days last year at Staten Prison in Elmore.
An inmate recovering from an opioid addiction ends up being raped and killed. Another was molested and beaten to death just days before his release. These aren’t the worst things we even have on this list. Let’s take a look at what happens to abused inmates in prison. Well, it’s been 10 days since a Jefferson County man died unexpectedly after spending time in an Alabama prison.
Now, the Williams family is trying to figure out how to bury this young man who was scheduled to be released from prison on the day he died. Daniel Williams was a 22-year-old from Alabama serving a 12-month sentence for secondderee theft at Staten Correctional Facility in Elmore. However, on the day he was set to be released, something tragic happened.
Now, days prior, Daniel was kidnapped inside Staten, a medium security prison. And according to other inmates and later confirmed by his family’s observations, he was held hostage in a corner of a housing dorm. During that time, he was drugged, hog tied, eaten, and repeatedly raped by another inmate, Lamont Montel Wilson. Now, for context, Wilson had a long record of violence and at least nine sexual assault cases in Alabama prisons dating back to 2017.
Yet, despite that, Wilson was never segregated. Instead, he was living in an open bay dorm because a risk assessment gave him a perfect score of zero for institutional violence. A decision signed off by prison psychologists and the warden. So, while being held, Daniel endured unspeakable violence. Inmates said that he was rented out to others, forced to take drugs against his will, and abused repeatedly.
Then, October 22nd, 2023, officers would find Daniel unresponsive on Wilson’s assigned bed. Now, Warden and Joseph Heedley told Daniel’s father, Terry Williams, and stepmother, Taylor Bostik, on October 25th that Daniel had ODed and was brain dead on life support at Jackson Hospital. When the family arrived, they got to see the truth.
Because Daniel’s body was covered in bruises, his arms and legs were cut, he had restraint marks on his wrists, and his head had dents in it like he was struck with a mop handle. Nurses even noted bruising on the inside of his legs, pointing to assault. Now, the family asked for a kit immediately, but the prison initially denied it, and it was only after legal pressure that a kit was done on November 1st, but the results were never released.
Doctors tell Daniel’s family he had only 10% brain function left. He could breathe and open his eyes, but he wasn’t really there. So, on November 5th, 2023, the family makes the heartbreaking decision to take him off life support. He’s moved to Kilby Correctional Facility for end of life care on November 8th and died the next day, November 9th, 2023.
The same day he was supposed to go home. After his death, the Alabama DOC called it a possible inmate on inmate assault and opened an investigation. Dr. Edward Reedi, who did the autopsy, found diffuse abrasions and contusions, likely defensive wounds, and had suspected smothering as the cause of death. But when an Elmore County grand jury reviewed the case in October 2024, they said there wasn’t enough evidence to charge anyone with murder, manslaughter, or even negligent homicide.
However, Daniel’s family wouldn’t stop here. On December 16th, 2024, Amber Renee Williams, the mother of Daniel’s daughter, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Corrections, including Commissioner John Ham and three Staten Wardens. The suit accused him of ignoring known risks of violence, even though assaults at Staten had spiked in October 2023.
And Wilson’s history of predation was no secret. The lawsuit blasted the lack of discipline and control in that facility. Because seriously, how could this go unnoticed when there’s cameras everywhere? I mean, it’s crazy. But what’s even crazier is that the lawsuit still hasn’t been settled. Yeah.
And based on the recent rulings, Daniel Williams family may never see justice. Well, Laura Barry was a juvenile when she was sentenced to life in prison. Laura got sentenced to life in a prison pretty young, got pregnant while incarcerated, and was brutally raped every other day behind bars. But even though her son was conceived in the most traumatic environment you can imagine, he was one of the few reasons she was able to make it out. Let’s go back.
Laura Barry grew up in Tex Arcana, Arkansas. And during her teenage years, she became very rebellious. It was during this time that she met a boy she liked, and she ended up becoming swept up in the excitement of their relationship. In her innocence, she overlooked some red flags where he began calling her names and getting physically rough with her early on.
And before long, the verbal insults escalated into yelling. He even locked her outside in the cold one time. Eventually, the abuse extended beyond her, where the boyfriend is now targeting her family, even going as far as to assault her blind father. But one day, everything changed. This guy comes up with a plan to rob Laura’s great aunt.
And terrified of angering him and believing her safety depended on keeping him happy. Laura agreed. The plan was simple. He’d commit the robbery and she’d pick him up afterward so they could leave town together. Now, keep in mind, Laura is just 17 at this time. And according to her, she didn’t fully grasp the risks or consequences of what was about to happen.
So, when Laura gets to her aunt’s house, she meets her boyfriend covered in blood because the robbery had gone wrong, resulting in him killing her aunt. Now, scared that he might kill her next, Laura helped him finish robbing the house. And because of that, they are both charged and arrested with capital murder, a crime carrying only two possible sentences: death or life without parole.
They were sentenced to life. Now, when you think it can’t get any worse, Laura began acting out behind bars, racking up infractions for things like insulence towards staff and possession of contraband. And because of that, she’s transferred to a more dangerous prison that housed both male and female inmates and were staffed by both male and female officers.
Now, Laura was supposed to be supervised only by female cos, but instead she’s assigned as a clerk to the field major who ran the prison farm, a man over 6t and weighing more than 200 lb. And then, for the second time in her life, Laura finds herself at the mercy of an abusive man as this officer constantly hurled sexual insults toward her and other women.
One day, he cornered her in an office located at the back of the barracks and raped her right there. Then in the weeks that followed, Laura got pregnant. Now when the officer learns about the pregnancy, he tries to force an abortion by making Laura ingest quinine and tarpentine. He also threatened to kill her if she didn’t accuse another guard who’d been sexually harassing her of being the father. So under pressure, she complies.
But eventually the truth about her attacker came out. Yet instead of facing justice, he simply went on leave for a back injury. Yeah. He continues to call her with instructions on what to say and do. And a year later, he’s finally fired. Oh, not foring Laura, but for smuggling drugs into the prison. Meanwhile, the prison authorities try to force Laura into terminating the pregnancy, arguing that as a ward to the state, she had no choice.
When she refused, they punished her by putting her in solitary confinement for lying about the father and for allegedly having consensual with an officer. It’s messed up. But despite everything, Laura gave birth to a healthy boy, a child who completely transformed her life. She had gone through unimaginable trauma.
But his arrival became her lifeline. Suddenly, she has a reason to live and a little human to protect. For the first time, she sees herself as someone capable of change, growth, and redemption. Now, during this time, another person who would change her life enters the picture. A guard contacted the ACLU about Laura’s situation, which led to attorney Clayton Blackstock taking her case.
And then over the next 25 years, Blackstock became her advocate, helping her secure proper medical care, find a safe home for her son, and ultimately fight for her second chance at freedom. Laura had applied for clemency five times and was denied for everyone. However, in 2017, everything shifts. A new Arkansas law allows re-sentencing for those who committed crimes as minors.
And by December of that year, Laura walked out of the prison, a free woman, after 32 years and 9 months behind bars. And since her release, Laura has dedicated herself to helping others. She founded a support group called 539ers, which connects people returning home after decades in prison. And through this group, she provides guidance, resources, and legal connections to help others overcome the same obstacles she once faced.
So, I started a group called the 539ers. And it’s a support group where I actually communicate with other people that are coming home and been been gone for decades and kind of support them and hook them up with my attorney or somebody else that can provide them with resources and help them over the same obstacles that I face when I come home.
Laura is also an IAN member, a regional connector, and she would travel across Arkansas speaking to re-entry groups in prison and participating in conferences nationwide on prison reform. She works closely with lawmakers to push for positive policy changes and even served as a consultant for Google, YouTube, and Black Dot Films to create a virtual reality project showcasing life for children in adult prisons launched in New York City.
I mean, she’s no doubt doing well for herself, but everything Laura does now stems from the one core belief she has that everyone deserves a second chance. Oh, please don’t be fooled by the cheap blonde wig, nor the tragic fashion choice, because this is not a woman, not even a trans woman. Meet 58-year-old Karen White, or should we say Steven Wood, who faked being transgender so he can get unlimited powering females behind bars.
And this is one of his victims, 47-year-old Cheryl Kemp, who exposed him for the fraud that he was. On January 16th, 2022, Cheryl, an inmate at HMP Newhaul in West Yorkshire, a prison that holds about 360 women, tells reporters about Karen White, who pretended to be transgender for 3 months while molesting other inmates, including herself back in 2017.
Karen White, now 58 years old, had been sent to HMP Newh Hall despite being a convicted and was awaiting trial for grievous bodily harm, multiple rapes, and other sexual offenses against women. White got special privileges like being allowed to buy makeup from outside, and she was allowed to use the internet to order wigs while other women didn’t get to do that.
Placement decisions for trans inmates like White are initially made by a local transgender case board, which includes prison managers and psychologists. However, in this case, White’s violent history was not taken into account. Cheryl vividly recalled a warm September afternoon in 2017 when she first encountered White in the exercise yard at the prison near Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
White approached her asking for oil for his ecigarette. Now, at that time, none of the women had been informed that White was a male, identifying as female, and standing at least 6 feet tall, wearing a cheap blonde wig and frumpy clothes. White stood out immediately. Even when questioned about her appearance, White simply responded, “I’m a woman.
” H Cheryl, serving time for burglary related to her drug addiction, remembered the shock amongst inmates at White’s deep voice and imposing size. According to Kemp, she said, White would come in wearing full makeup, but couldn’t even blend his foundation properly. We were all taken aback by how big he was.
I gave him the vape oil and we had a quick chat about his charges. He didn’t seem interested in fitting in. It was just a costume, an act. His voice was really deep and masculine. If you really wanted to be a woman, you’d at least try to soften your voice, but he didn’t bother. So, a few days later, Cheryl’s assigned to mentor White in a sewing workshop.
And at first, everything was cool. But within 3 days, while alone in the workshop, White crudely demanded that Cheryl perform a sexual act on him. Shocked, Cheryl questioned his sexuality. White would tell her that he still had male genitalia and that it would work if he stopped taking his hormone tablets for 6 weeks.
White even boasted about hiding his medication in his mouth to fake compliance. And just in case you didn’t know, hormone therapy is meant to lower testosterone and sex drive. Stopping the medication allows the body to start producing testosterone again. White then grabs Cheryl’s left breast and commented on her chest before Cheryl left in disgust.
She reports the incident to the prison officer who urges her to file a formal complaint, but she declined, thinking White was just trying his luck. Now, two weeks later, she realized how wrong she was when White pressed himself against her in the toilet queue, making Cheryl feel his arousal before uttering the most disgusting words ever. You know you want it.
I mean, that’s freaking disgusting, man. And White didn’t stop here. The next day, he escalated further by grabbing Cheryl’s hand and forcing it right onto his crotch. That’s when Cheryl just lost it. She grabbed a pair of scissors and went to cut his balls off before she was dragged away.
Now, soon after, Cheryl learns that White had assaulted another female inmate and had to be put in isolation because this dude was wild and out. And it was at this point that Cheryl decided to file an official complaint, but found out that not one nor two, but multiple female inmates had been abused by this man. So, word spread quick that White was a biological male.
And as a result of that, he’s quickly transferred to HMP Armley, an allmale prison in Leeds, where a bunch of guys would love to have a good time with him. Meanwhile, Cheryl’s testimony became part of an investigation that helped authorities slap two additional charges on White for being such a perve. Plus, the Ministry of Justice later apologized to Cheryl and all the women at HMP Newhaul, admitting that White’s past crimes were not considered before his transfer to the women’s prison. Bravo UK.
You got all kind of stuff. People beating up people for commissary. You got people uh beating up people for their tennis shoes. You got people just just sizing people just, you know, just going rambunctious. Man, those are the words of an inmate describing life inside the same prison facility where 18-year-old Rodney Hulan ultimately took his own life after he got fed up with other inmates continuously and relentlessly molesting him.
Now, Rodney’s road to despair began in 1995 when he was just 16 years old. At the time, he faced trouble with the law after setting fire to a pile of trash using Molotov cocktails, blazing the wall of a house. He was just 1 month away from his 17th birthday. And since Texas at the time treated 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system, Rodney was charged as an adult and given either the chance to enroll in a boot camp program followed by probation and risk two consecutive 15-year sentences if he failed or take
an 8-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole. So, he takes the second option. And it turned out that it ultimately led to his death. Because for the first 6 months, Rodney was at Randall County Jail in Amarillo, Texas, followed by 3 months at the Middleton unit in Abalene, a facility used for prisoner and taken classification.
Now, during this time, he reported no problems. But things changed drastically in November 1995 when he was transferred to the notorious Clemens Unit in Brazoria County, an adult prison known for its violence and abuse. Almost immediately, Rodney’s situation became dire. On November 15th, 1995, he writes a letter to his father, admitting that he feared for his life and was pleading for prayer so he could survive long enough to just make parole.
2 days later, November 17th, his worst fears came true. He’s raped by inmates in the unit housing younger offenders, and a prison doctor confirms the assault, documenting two vertical tears in his rectum. The doctor also ordered an HIV test which came back negative. Though he noted that nearly a third of the prison’s 2,200 inmates were HIV positive. Yeah.
Poor Rodney, too small for his age, just 5’2 in tall and 125 lb, begged to be placed in protective custody. However, the warden denied that request, saying the attack didn’t meet the prison’s emergency grievance criteria. I wonder what did meet that criteria. Either way, over the next two months, Rodney endured a repeated abuse. More sexual assaults, violent beatings, forced oral sex, and robberies by older inmates.
And every time he asked for help, they ignored him. On January 26th, 1996, after 75 days of suffering, Rodney reached his breaking point. He writes a suicide note to another inmate saying he’s exhausted by this prison life. That day, he put a rope around his neck and jumped from the top bunk in his cell. The impact would crush his windpipe and cut off his blood flow to the brain.
Medical staff managed to restart his heart and he’s first taken to a hospital in Brazoria County before being transferred to John Celely Hospital’s prison unit in Galveastston and later to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Medical Facility at the University of Texas Medical Branch known as Hospital Galveastston.
After his 18th birthday in March 1996, he’s moved to the Ellis unit in Walker County where he remained in a coma for 4 months. Rodney’s father, Rodney Hulan Senior, then applied for medical parole, which was granted. The plan was to move him to a nursing home in Abalene on May 11th, 1996. But tragically, Rodney had died from his injuries on May 9th, just 2 days before that transfer.
His parents file a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, arguing that the system had failed deeply to protect him despite many reports of abuse. And saying how obviously solid their case was, it was settled out of court in 1998 for an undisclosed amount. And get this, no inmates were ever prosecuted for these assaults.
What the? Being labeled a chumo in prison is almost a guaranteed recipe for disaster or more tragically a pathway to relentless sexual abuse. And unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to Darius Sorrowo until he ultimately took his own life. Over 2 years, Sorrow endured repeated assault and relentless bullying from other inmates while incarcerated at James T.
Von Correctional Center near Smeirna and later at Morris Community Correction Center in Dover, Delaware. Sorrow had a youthful appearance in a small build, standing much shorter and slider than many of the men around him, some of whom were serving time for murder. His physical vulnerability combined with his status as a registered sex offender made him an easy target for predators.
But the story goes much deeper because when he was just 19 years old, Sorrow got involved in a relationship with a girl he believed was 16 years old, but was actually 13, which led to his prosecution and registration as a sex offender. So, as you might know, crimes like that are rarely forgiven in prison. In fact, they defy and break the moral compass of inmates, many of whom have committed brutal crimes, including murder.
So throughout his sentence, Sorrow repeatedly tells the staff of the DOC that he was being raped and bullied. On at least one occasion, he required hospitalization after being assaulted. But despite these reports, there was no record that prison officials nor healthc care staff made any effort to move him into a safer environment or even investigate his claims.
Sorrow submitted multiple sick call requests asking for psychological support, but help was slow to come. sometimes taken as long as a month for an appointment. This lack of timely care was especially concerning giving his history of mental illness and previous attempts to take his life before incarceration.
He also said that he was fondled as a child and the new adults inside prison worsened his PTSD. In essence, he was in here with severe depression, overwhelming anxiety, and a constant fear for his life. What made it worse is that Sorrow always talked about taking himself out. In one chilling instance, he told a nurse he was going to do it because he faced a lifetime on the sex offender registry and believed his family would never see him again.
A reality that made him feel hopeless. So during his time behind bars, Sorrow attempted to take his life twice. Once by using Saran Wrap and another by using a laundry bag string. Yet despite these incidents, no effective measures were taken to prevent further attempts. Like the prison along with its inmates wanted him dead.
So on the night of October 10th, 2017, Sorrowos slipped into a bathroom and took himself out. It took the cos between 30 and 45 minutes to find him, unresponsive and dangling behind the door. Now, just a day earlier, Sorrow had told the counselors he wasn’t having these types of thoughts. Instead, he simply asked for assistance replenishing basic hygienic items that had been stolen by other inmates.
and he wasn’t confirmed dead until 4 days later when doctors at the ICU at Bay Health Hospital broke the news to his family. And that was the end of his story. Now, not every convict faces such a tragedy after being assaulted in prison. Some actually find a way to get justice for the trauma they’ve endured. Take for example the case of Nathan Esri.
Because back in 2004, Esri, a Texas inmate, endured repeated sexual assaults by a prison guard who already had a history of similar misconduct. Now, we’re going to warn you, the details in this case are very graphic. Nathan Essie was given 8 years in prison for robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a controlled substance.
He’s sent to O Luther State Prison where it’s almost a ritual for cos to sexually assault inmates. Now, Nathan said that he was forced many times in October 2001 to play with himself and perform oral on an officer, Michael Cheney, at the Luther unit in Navasota, Texas. And when Essie reported the assaults to assistant warden Jerry Barrett, he was assured of protection.
However, that very same day, Essie was sent back to his job in the prison laundry, an area supervised by Cheney, where he was assaulted once again. But get this, during both those times, Essri discreetly gathered Cheney seaman on a handkerchief after he and mailed that evidence to the US attorney’s office in Houston. DNA testing later confirmed Cheny’s involvement in those assaults.
And this evidence prompted prison prosecutor Kelly Weekes to issue an affidavit for Cheny’s arrest in January 2002. In October of that year, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Esri and provided more information about Cheny’s depraved assault on many other inmates. But probably the most damning issue with this case was the fact that these guys had filed complaints countless times against Cheney.
Yet, other prison staff would allegedly ignore those reports. One former inmate, Garrett Cunningham, stated in a federal court filing that he’d been assaulted in that same laundry area a year before Essie’s attack. Cunningham said that after he reported that he was reassigned from the laundry to a position in an adjacent room.
And despite that reassignment, Cheney continued to harass him and no investigation into the officer’s behavior was ever conducted. But thanks to Esri’s quick thinking and with the help of the ACLU, officer Cheney eventually resigned following his arrest and was hit with several charges of aggravated sexual assault along with two counts of engaging in improper sexual conduct with an inmate.
And throughout the entire process, this sick bastard showed no remorse. In the end, he reached a settlement with Esri totaling $118,318. It’s pretty specific. On top of that though, Essie was granted ownership of Cheny’s beach house, receiving $7,200 in cash and was awarded $54,000 from the state of Texas.
As for Cheney, well, his sentence included probation, community service, a monetary fine, and a court order requiring him to pay Essrie $50 a month for the next 10 years. So, it might have not been the harsh punishment Essie was hoping for, but at least it was something. And more importantly, it sent a message.
Prison officers getting freaky with their inmates is absolutely unacceptable and should never be ignored, no matter the circumstance. Two state senators are taking action tonight after a King Five investigation showed how a sexual working inside a jail got a light sentence for his crimes against inmates. Kimberly’s story was featured in a King Five investigation that uncovered failures and how state and local officials responded to the predatory behavior of her jail guard, Dawn Gray.
It’s December 7th, 2019. Kimberly Bender, a 23-year-old member of the Quilowit tribe, tragically ended her life while held in the Fork City Jail in Washington. But her story would begin months earlier between July and December of that year when Bender found herself repeatedly incarcerated while battling heroin addiction, depression, and worst of all, assault from one corrections officer.
Records from as far back as 2014 showed Bender had a history of self and suicidal tendencies, leading to periods of suicide watch and strict 15-minute welfare checks. In 2016, a jail nurse had even documented her long-term depression and self behavior. Well, let’s fast forward to 2019. Bender faced multiple bookings with the final one occurring in November for violating probation by possessing marijuana paraphernalia.
Now, during that last day behind bars, a disturbing person came into the picture. CEO John Russell Gray. Gray had been hired by Forks Jail in October 2018 under emergency hire status and was a pretty controversial employee. At the time of his hiring, he was on paid leave from Clayum Bay Correction Center for prior policy violations.
And while at Forks, Gray would often work the night shift alone, giving him room to harass female inmates. According to reports, Gray relentlessly tormented Bender. He allegedly made vulgar sexual remarks, joked that her inhaler was a though and stalked her in her cell. Woke her up with a crude comment every night like the harassment was pretty intense.
So much so Bender avoided using the restroom when Gray was on duty cuz she felt pretty unsafe around him. November 16th, 2019. Bender attempts taken her life by slashing her forearm with a razor just 3 days after Gray had ridiculously mocked her and her medication. And then while she’s hospitalized for that attempt, Bender confided in Aquilouette tribal police officer about Gray’s behavior, a conversation that was captured on body camera.
And upon her return to jail, she repeated these allegations to other officers. Yet, it would be only Forks police officer Jackson Faulner who took her claim seriously, noting that Gray had used similar language in the past. Despite that, though, the jail concluded that the complaint was unsubstantiated, and rather than facing any accountability, Gray’s probationary employment was quietly terminated without cause, which allowed him to return to his position at Claym Bay Correction Center without issue.
Now, meanwhile, Bender was supposed to receive crisis counseling through West End Outreach Services. However, no meaningful steps were ever taken to safeguard her or even address her deteriorating mental state. And so, on December 7th, 2019, just hours after telling her mom that she loved her during a phone call, Bender was found dead in her cell at 6:55 p.m.
She took herself out with a bed sheet tied to a door handle. The last welfare check had been made at 3:57 p.m. by CO Kelsey Pearson, meaning that her poor lifeless body was hanging there for hours without anyone even noticing. A lawsuit filed by her family later claimed that Fork’s police chief Mike Roelly failed to inform the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, who investigated Bender’s death, about her harassment complaint.
It also accused the jail of neglecting her well doumented mental health risks. And as for Gray, his misconduct wouldn’t stop with Bender because her family’s lawsuit exposed the fact that between June 13th and October 4th of 2019, Gray actually assaulted four other women at Forks Jail, most of whom, like Bender, struggled with heroin addiction.
And more shockingly, he bailed out three of his victims after abusing him. Gray was finally arrested in May 2020, and by February 2021, he plead guilty to four charges of felony and gross misdemeanor custodial sexual misconduct. He received a 20-month prison sentence, but only served 13, gaining release in March 2022.
Jesus. People were outraged at this light sentence, prompting Bender’s family to file a separate federal civil lawsuit in the US District Court in Tacoma, alleging deliberate indifference and negligence, claiming Bender’s constitutional rights were violated along with federal standards under the Prison Elimination Act.
It argued that her death was preventable and blamed the jail for ignoring both her suicidal tendencies and harassment reports. And then in November 2022, the Fork City Council unanimously approved a $1 million settlement for Bender’s family, benefiting her mother and her now son. So, was justice served? You tell us. It’s one thing to be harassed in prison and then try to seek justice, but it’s entirely different to go through that while lying in a hospital bed battling a terminal heart condition.
Unfortunately, that’s what Sierra Johnson went through. Lested by three men while serving time behind bars. 36-year-old Johnson from the Mohawk Nation at Aquaans filed her lawsuit against the state of New York in 2023, claiming that four state employees sexually assaulted her during two separate prison terms in 2014 and 17.
In her complaint, she recounted multiple incidents of rape, groping, and in one case, a medically abusive procedure, starting from the moment she was first incarcerated at Albian Correctional Facility for a parole violation related to a previous attempted robbery conviction. From the moment she lands behind bars, she’s asked by a CEO to perform oral on him twice, no joke, in a secluded shower, threatening to withhold her contact lenses if she refused.
can’t make this up. This other time she said another officer harassed her by rubbing his groin against her as she sat in a school building while also making racially charged comments like calling women Pocahontas and referring to another inmate as his favorite Indian. From that moment, Sierra knew surviving in such an environment was all about selling oneself for some benefits.
However, after getting released, Johnson returned to prison in 2017. And during intake at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, she claims a doctor assaulted her under the guise of medical care. She said that the doctor had held her down and forcibly inserted a speculum and fingers into her vagina while she repeatedly said no, causing pain and tearing.
She bled for several days and then says that she hasn’t menrated since that incident. Freaking crazy. But the abuse didn’t stop. She’s later transferred back to Albian where this time she’s assaulted by probably the most corrupt co to ever walk the earth. His name David Stupnik. Stupnik’s the kind of guy who creates his own laws and doesn’t give a damn about repercussions.
And for Sierra, she claims the first encounter she had with him occurred in the prison showers where he would grope her chest and groin while mocking her body and laughing. Another time, she says he followed her to the dorm room, slammed her head into a locker, and assaulted her while she crouched in her pink robe.
Fearing for her safety, she stayed silent. And it wasn’t until years later after her release and while studying to become a mental health and substance abuse counselor that she heard a radio ad about the Adult Survivors Act that she decided to then come forward and seek justice. Her attorneys are asking for 25 million in damages, but due to her health, Sierra might not even live long enough before the case concludes.
Her heart condition often keeps her hospitalized for weeks, and she periodically suffers from heart attacks and cardiogenic shock. Doctors diagnosed her with endstage heart failure, and on two occasions warned that she only had days to live. Hopefully, she sees the case through. But at the end of the day, the fact that she stood up for herself despite the circumstances is a win in her book.
December 2018, the government of British Columbia was ordered to pay a man at least $175,000. Why? Well, because he’d been sexually assaulted several times during what was supposed to be a scared straight tour of Okala prison over 40 years prior. Now, we’re just going to call this guy John Doe.
And he had a normal and happy childhood. But things would shift in middle school when he’s in eighth grade as he fell into the wrong crowd. He and a few friends would break into a house on a dare. They stole a TV, drank some OJ from their fridge, and thought they’d gotten away with it until police showed up almost immediately, arresting him, and then marched him home to their very angry parents.
After that, Jon was banned from seeing those friends and his parents jointly agreed for him to be taken on that scared straight program as part of his sentence for the break-in. Now, back then, scared straight programs were designed to take teens who were considered at risk and show them what prison life was like, hoping that the fear would keep them out of trouble.
Inmates serving life sentences would often speak to kids in harsh, intimidating tones. But at the time, this program was anything but safe. It was completely unstructured and the experience varied depending on the guard in charge and teens were sometimes locked into dark isolation cells, taunted by inmates and even humiliated.
In John’s case, a female probation officer picked him up from his house, drove him to the prison, and handed him over to the guard. Never really suspecting what would happen next, she drove him home afterward, completely unaware that this poor boy just endured a brutal assault that Jon never told her.
So, what exactly happened here? Well, the moment he arrived at Okala, a prison guard grabbed him and led him straight into a cell. Inside here, several inmates were waiting for him. And immediately, they force him to perform oral before taking turns him. And while all that’s happening, the guard didn’t just stand by. Oh, he stood at the door and laughed.
Then when it was over, John said the guard shoved him against the wall and told him, “This is what happens to littleers like you.” The attack left him bleeding and in pain for at least a week. Yet, he didn’t tell his parents, and he didn’t tell his friends. But over time, it tore his life apart.
John claimed that his relationship suffered and his mental health spiraled. In the lawsuit he filed, he claimed that the trauma never left him. And in the decades since, he’s battled PTSD, a personality disorder, severe depression, anxiety, thoughts, and even a cocaine addiction. Okala prison was shut down in 1991 and later torn down to make way for housing.
But for John Doe, those walls are still standing in his memory. And even though he won his lawsuit and got his paycheck, John Doe says no amount of money will ever be enough to heal the wounds that that program left behind and the way it destroyed his life. For the second time in just a matter of months, a woman is suing alleging sexual abuse at a federal medical prison for women in Fort Worth.
The woman suing says she was repeatedly raped, abused, and harassed at the Federal Medical Center Carwell Union in Fort Worth. Afia Sadiki was assaulted in prison, but not for the reasons you may think. Cuz as you see, Sadiki is more than just an inmate in a random prison in the US. Born in Karachi, Pakistan in 1972, Sadiki was an exceptional student from an early age.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from MIT, later completing a PhD at Bry University. But following the 9/11 attacks, she returned to Pakistan, married Amomar Al-Baluchcci, and then disappeared between 2003 and 2008, a period during which she was rumored to have been held at a CIA black site or living in hiding.
But then in July 2008, Afghan authorities arrested Sadiki in Gazni, allegedly in possession of plans for making explosives. During questioning by US personnel, she reportedly grabbed a rifle and fired at soldiers. In the chaos, she was shot and later extradited to the US. 2 years later, in 2010, a New York court would convict her on charges of attempted murder and assault, sentencing her to 86 years in prison.
Oh, this sparked widespread protests in Pakistan and it drew threats from militant groups, even leading to a 2022 hostage standoff at a Texas synagogue where the captor demanded her release. Thankfully, the situation was taken care of, but Sadiki’s life was about to take a drastic turn for the worse. While serving her sentence at Fort Worth Federal Prison FMC Carwell, Sadiki claimed in a lawsuit filed by her attorneys to have endured years of abuse behind bars.
Now, she said that she was raped multiple times by CEOs, beginning with an assault in 2011 after she reported the attack. She allegedly faced retaliation, losing access to the commissary and even contact with her lawyers. In 2012, two officers allegedly beat her unconscious, ripped her again, and then after she disclosed this to a Pakistani consular official.
They dowsed her with an acidic liquid, leaving visible burn scars on her skin. Additional assaults were reportedly placed in 2015, 17, and 18, though Sadiki says she stayed silent out of fear of further retaliation. But again, on July 30th, 2021, she claims to have suffered yet another attack.
this time from a fellow inmate who threw scalding liquid on her face. That incident again left her with facial burns, a 3-in scar near her eye, and multiple bruises that put her in a wheelchair. Following that, she’s placed in solitary confinement, a move her attorneys described as punitive. Now, the lawsuit further accused Carwell of failing to provide adequate medical care.
Sadiki suffered from untreated PTSD, neurological issues, worsening hearing and vision, and severe dental problems. The suit also claimed that she was denied access to an imam and subjected to strip searches in the presence of male officers, which violated her religious rights and probably a lot of others, too. A major point of the complaint is Carswwell’s alleged failure to comply with the Prison Elimination Act, which requires swift investigations and measures to protect victims.
And according to the lawsuit, a confidential abuse complaint filed by one of her attorneys, Clive Smith, in November 2023 has been unanswered till now. And to make matters worse, at least one of those officers accused of assault is still stationed in the administrative segregation unit where Sadiki herself is held, heightening her vulnerability and fear of retaliation.
Systemic issues at this place have also come to light as a justice department report from 2019 showed that 26 members of Carwell staff were indicted for sexual abuse between 2012 and 2018 raising some serious concerns about their culture there. And besides, Pakistan’s government has long questioned the fairness of Sadiki’s conviction and has been pressing for her release since 2008.
They’ve requested a potential prisoner swamp between the US and Pakistan, but that hasn’t really made any headway. And as for what happened to her after the adults, well, let’s just say she’s doing everything in her power to break free. With a sentence stretching all the way to 2082, Afia Sadiki remains one of the most divisive figures alive.
Hailed by supporters as a wronged victim of injustice, yet branded by US authorities as a convicted terrorist.
