FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 1997                             (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888
                                 
        JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES MICHIGAN OVER CONDITIONS
                       AT WOMEN'S PRISONS
                                
     WASHINGTON, D.C. --  The Justice Department today filed suit
against the state of Michigan to ensure that female inmates at
the state's women's prisons are protected from rapes and sexual
assaults by prison guards and staff.

     The Department today also brought a similar action against
Arizona over conditions at its state-run women's prisons.

     The Michigan lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in
Detroit, alleges that inmates at the Scott and Crane correctional
facilities have been subjected to sexual misconduct, unlawful
invasions of privacy, and have received inadequate medical and
mental health care.

     "No one should be exposed to the risk of sexual assault
under any circumstances," said Isabelle Katz Pinzler, Acting
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. 

     The suit was brought under the Civil Rights of
Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), enacted in 1980 to protect
the rights of people housed in state and local government
institutions, including prisons.  Under the law, the Justice
Department has the authority to investigate institutions to
ensure that conditions at the facilities meet constitutional
standards.

     The Department began looking at the Michigan prisons, which
together house more than 1,200 inmates, in June 1994 after
receiving complaints about alleged misconduct by staff.  The
state refused to allow the Department access to the prisons to
conduct an investigation, and has failed to negotiate with the
Department to resolve the allegations.

     "As in all cases, we had hoped to resolve this matter short
of litigation," added Pinzler.

     The suit seeks a court order requiring the state to:

          protect women inmates from rapes, sexual assaults, and
          other improper sexual contact by staff;
          ensure that inmates and staff do not engage in sexual
          relations; 
          ensure that women inmates are not viewed in a prurient
          manner when showering, changing, and using the toilet
          facilities;
          provide inmates with adequate medical care, including
          access to care for serious needs; and,
          provide adequate mental health care.

     In March of 1995, the Department issued a letter detailing
its findings of sexual misconduct and proposed remedies.

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