Seven Republican Governors Won't Comply With Anti-Rape Rules

WASHINGTON — Republican governors in seven states — Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Nebraska, Texas and Utah — are either ignoring or refusing to comply with national standards meant to prevent sexual assault in prisons, according to new information from the Justice Department.
The Justice Department gave the governors of all 50 states until May 15 to either say they are in compliance with national standards to prevent prison rape or certify that at least 5 percent of the federal grant funds they receive will go toward bringing them into compliance. Just two states, New Hampshire and New Jersey, certified that they were in compliance, while 46 states or territories promised to dedicate at least 5 percent of their grant funds to meeting the federal standards.
In all, out of the 56 jurisdictions where it applies (50 states plus the District of Columbia and five territories), 48 are in compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which was first passed in 2003. The national standards associated with PREA were finalized in 2012. The eight entities that are not in compliance — those seven states plus the Northern Marianas Islands — will lose 5 percent of their grant funds in the coming year.
Read the full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/28/prison-rape-elimination-act-doj_n_5406665.html