By Daniel J. Simms, Independent Journalist/Author/Podcast Host. www.DefundDOC.net.
Lift your penis and balls, turn around bend over, spread your butt cheeks wide, and cough, said a D.O.C. Guard as he looked at my most private parts for the second time of the weekend. This happens to me twice every single weekend. When will sanity return to criminal-justice policies? Virtually every sentencing and penological policy across the Nation is based on fearfulness, emotion, and hate-filled prejudices. They surely do not emanate from a logical or legitimate rehabilitative or public safety purpose. Case in point, frequent strip searches and pat downs within jails and prisons. These practices are used by Guards on a daily, even hourly, basis for no conceivable legitimate purpose. The pretext they use is that a small percentage of past prisoners have secreted drugs or weapons inside the prison. Now, due to that minuscule amount, they embarrassingly strip naked hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Americans moving forward forever into the future. Not just upon entering the jail and prison. But also at arbitrary and unnecessary times. Seemingly innocuous moments like visits or attending the cafeteria are occasions for strip searches and pat downs. Traumatizing generations of our troubled people with invasive sexual abuse. Visually raping our citizens. Such an overly broad practice wreaks more harm than it solves. There is no data collected on the amount of contraband found in strip searches and pat downs Nationally. However, based on extensive lived experience, the vast amount of strip searches and pat downs across the Country, practically zero results in an actual discovery of contraband. Statistically ninety-nine point nine percentage (99.9%) of strip searches and pat downs produce nothing. Only zero point zero one percent (0.01%) results in a bust of contraband. Ordinarily, in the real world, this would invalidate the practice. Discontinuing the ineffective and harmful custom. But due to the emotional based stigmas and prejudices against imprisoned Americans this extremely traumatizing policy persists. Foreclosing our people to long lasting mental anguish. Since a large segment of the prison population, including this author, were sexually or physically abused, neglected, or degraded, as children, the practice is especially vicious. (See: Hopeless in Seattle: A Fosterkids Manifesto). The powerlessness, humiliation, and nakedness permanently damaging their already fragile mental state.
The sad and outrageous fact is that the U.S. Constitution and even International law forbid such invasive searches. In Constitutional law a strip search and pat down by law enforcement requires probable cause, an oath, and a signature from a judge. (U.S. Constitution, Amendment Four). This protects Americans from arbitrary and capricious invasions of their body privacy from law enforcement. Somehow that reasonable and fair protection is unconstitutionally taken from prisoners. No where in the Constitution is there a carve out to strip prisoners naked and search them frequently without any probable cause whatsoever. On the contrary, our forefathers stated clearly and unambiguously, that the protection shall not be violated. Yet prejudiced hard-on-crime politicians and judges operating from emotion, fear, or hate have decided unilaterally that imprisoned Americans should lose this foundational constitutional right. There was no research, investigation, or even a meaningful debate that the violation of body privacy is warranted. As stated above, virtually every strip search and pat down produces nothing but mental damage to prisoners. On the International stage the United States is a pariah among civilized Nations. The systemic cruel and degrading naked strip searches are clear Crimes Against Humanity. (See: United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. S. Treaty Doc. No. 100-20. December 10, 1984). U.S. criminal-justice strip searching policy is brutal, damaging, unconstitutional, cruel, and repulsively ineffective. So why is it being done to millions of Americans every single day? For one reason, it is done to a disfavored powerless imprisoned American. If the practice was implemented for Correctional Officers themselves, the leading group introducing drugs and contraband Nationally, then there would be outrage. Why is it accepted for any other American? The drafters of the Constitution did not permit imprisoned citizens to lose their Fourth Amendment rights upon entering the judicial system. Yet prejudiced judges and politicians, drunk on power have usurped the founding fathers intentions, infringing on millions of troubled Americans fundamental rights.
Every weekend hundreds of thousands of prisoners across the Country get a small reprieve from the bloody prison violence, cutthroat prison politics, and pervasive guard brutality, when their family or friends come to visit. Strong familial connections have proven one of the most effective indicators of successful societal reentry. The visits come at a deep humiliating cost however. Every single time prisoners exchange a much sought after visit in exchange for a degrading and mortifying naked cavity body search. Such an ugly exchange is abhorrent to the sensibilities of most reasonable minded Americans. So why do judges, politicians, and prison administrators continue to justify the repugnant practice? Sexually assaulting millions of Americans. Largely because they have not had to pay a political or personal price. That is why it is incumbent upon us to raise our collective voices against the morally corrupt practice. Ultimately together we can effect change. But only if we unite and organize against these evil customs that have gone on for far too long.
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