Perry: Texas Won't Work With Feds To Prevent Prison Rape
Citing what he calls a "counterproductive and unnecessarily cumbersome and costly regulatory mess," Texas Governor Rick Perry on Friday sent a three-page letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder declaring that Texas would not comply with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).
The Prison Rape Elimination Act was signed by President George W. Bush in 2003 with unanimous support from both parties in Congress. The purpose of the act was to "provide for the analysts of the incidence and effects of prison rape in Federal, State, and local institutions and to provide information, resources, recommendations and funding to protect individuals from prison rape."
Scott over at Grits for Breakfast has acquired Perry's letter to Holder and excerpted it copiously.
In the letter, Perry cites operational obstacles to implementation of PREA. Perry complains that PREA standards on cross-gender viewing - the requirement that inmates be allowed to do things like shower and change without members of the opposite gender viewing them -- are "ridiculous" and unworkable.
More at http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/15033/perry-texas-wont-work-with-feds-to-prevent-prison-rape . 
= new reply since forum marked as read
Perry loves to reject FREE Federal money for things like Medicaid.
I wouldn't be surprised if he's rejecting FREE Federal money because of that big bad old mean GUVMINT. 
