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Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

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Monday, August 11, 2008

Drug War Madness: Strip Searched Girl Wins Appeal

Federal courts took far too long to rule that it's wrong to strip-search a 13-year-old girl suspected of carrying ibuprofen.
By Vera Leone
August 11, 2008
» Discuss Article
She was a 13-year-old honor student. She may or may not have given her friend prescription-strength ibuprofen, though the girl certainly didn't have any on her. An assistant principal, acting on the word of a scared fellow student, brought the eighth-grade girl into his office and subjected her to a strip search. In the presence of the school nurse and the assistant principal's administrative assistant, this young woman was forced to strip off her clothes including her underwear, exposing first her breasts and then her pubic area, on the erroneous suspicion that she was hiding . . . ibuprofen. At this Arizona middle school, students are prohibited from carrying drugs -- even over-the-counter medication -- into school.

Last month, The Times reported that a panel of judges on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned (in a 6-5 decision) previous rulings that condoned the actions of the assistant principal, who is now finally considered liable for damages.

The student was searched by women, the nurse and the administrative assistant. It's still abuse. I've been through these searches. Regardless of your gender or that of the people searching you, it's a violation of your rights.

LA TIMES

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What! I mean WHAT? If that was my daughter, wow. Hell hath no fury. Where does it stop? Oh my. The 2nd american revolution is coming, and not soon enough.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure a law suit will now follow,although compensation alone can not replace the feelings of that girl. The 6/5 ruling shows that 5 of those voting had it wrong? Pretty darn sad. djw