Michigan Prison Films Women in Showers — and Caught Guards Saying Lewd Things, Lawsuit Says

A million lawsuit filed Monday in Washtenaw County Circuit Court is taking aim at the Michigan Department of Corrections alleging that prison agents subjected hundreds of incarcerated women to illegal surveillance by recording them during strip searches while showering and even as they used the toilet The suit describes the violations as a profound breach of privacy and basic human rights At the heart of the matter is a deeply controversial and according to experts unprecedented agenda implemented at Women s Huron Valley Correctional Facility the only women s prison in Michigan Under the Michigan Department of Corrections agenda directive prison guards were instructed to wear activated body cameras while conducting routine strip searches capturing video of women in states of complete undress The suit brought by the firm Flood Law alleges a range of abuses including lewd comments from prison guards during recorded searches and long-term psychological trauma inflicted on women a great number of of whom are survivors of sexual violence What these women continue to endure is nothing short of horrific What these women continue to endure is nothing short of horrific This incident exposes a grotesque abuse of power that directly retraumatizes survivors of sexual assault Todd Flood declared in a Tuesday press release ahead of announcing the suit Despite multiple warnings about the program s illegality from advocacy organizations and state legislatures MDOC officers have failed to fully halt these privacy violations Attorneys for the plaintiffs named women with hundreds more expected to join argued that this practice not only deprived women of their dignity but also violated widely accepted detention standards No other state in the country permits such recordings a multitude of have explicit prohibitions against filming individuals during unclothed searches recognizing the inherent menace of abuse and the acute vulnerability of the people being searched Michigan the attorneys revealed stands alone The plaintiffs are suing the Michigan Department of Corrections Department of Corrections head Heidi Washington Gov Gretchen Whitmer and more than a dozen other high-ranking authorities Neither the Department of Corrections nor Whitmer s office at once responded to requests for comment Violating Their Rights The lawsuit lays out a sweeping series of alleged legal violations accusing state officers of overcoming constitutional and moral lines It contends the officers are ultimately responsible for a blatant invasion of privacy through the unauthorized recording of women in vulnerable states the deliberate infliction of emotional trauma through policies that retraumatized sexual assault survivors and systemic sex-based discrimination in violation of Michigan s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act The Elliott-Larsen law which protects against sex-based discrimination was meant to protect against precisely this kind of gendered abuse The suit says the guidelines suggests that women in state custody are being surveilled in procedures no male prisoner would be The complaint also asserts that the protocol and its continued enforcement stand in direct conflict with multiple protections enshrined in the Michigan Constitution suggesting a failure at every level of oversight and accountability According to the complaint the body camera approach began in January and was only partially rolled back in March after masses pressure Although the Department of Corrections changed its guidelines to stop recording strip searches the suit alleges that officers continue to film women in showers bathrooms and other private settings actions that the complaint says amount to felonies under Michigan law The trauma has taken a measurable toll Women have announced acute anxiety disrupted sleep digestive problems and worsening of chronic soundness conditions The psychological impact has led multiple to isolate themselves quit their work assignments and disengage from educational programs One woman who had served as a Prisoner Observation Aide for years resigned from the role due to repeated exposure to recorded searches The plaintiffs are seeking not just financial damages but also an injunction to halt any remaining recordings destruction of existing footage and mandatory staff training to prevent further abuse This isn t just about privacy Flood announced in the announcement It s about dignity trauma and the state s responsibility to uphold the basic rights of every person in its custody The post Michigan Prison Films Women in Showers and Caught Guards Saying Lewd Things Lawsuit Says appeared first on The Intercept