Tough choices: Prison Rape, or Red Tape

My governor Butch Otter (LOL), the "normal guy" on the recent internet sensation of a televised clown car called the Idaho Republican gubernatorial debate, has joined other like-minded "government IS the problem" aficionados in refusing to enforce the Prison Rape Elimination Act. That complying with Federal law has apparently become voluntary in many places boggles the mind.

Idaho, other states opting out of federal prison rape law

BOISE, Idaho — Several states are refusing to comply with a federal law designed to reduce sexual assaults in prison, with governors criticizing the decade-old law as counterproductive and too expensive to implement.

The governors of Idaho, Texas, Indiana, Utah and Arizona have informed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that they won't try to meet the standards required under the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Governors were required to certify by May 15 that their states either met the standards designed to curb widespread sexual abuse behind bars, or to promise that they were actively working toward that goal.

"Idaho supports the spirit and intention of PREA and the National PREA Standards, but a law with good intent has evolved into a law with too much red tape," Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter wrote in a letter to Holder sent five days after the deadline. It would cost the state millions of dollars to meet some of the standards, Otter said, and he believed the cost would have little ultimate benefit. Besides, the governor said, the state has taken substantial steps to reduce sexual victimization in correctional facilities.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry told Holder in April that his state wouldn't comply because the rules were too costly and violated states' rights. Perry's letter also encouraged other states to reject the federal law, and said that instead, his state would continue the programs it already has to reduce prison rapes.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/05/23/3199311/some-states-opting-out-of-federal.html?sp=/99/1687/&ihp=1