Rest In Peace: It started the 1st night man was placed w/his new cellmate-"We are not marriage counselors, you 2 work it out"'

[Sugar Cookie]

It started the first night Joe Booth was placed with his new cellmate at the Richard Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

'He grabbed my ankle and pulled me off the bed … He had a weapon that was manufactured out of a piece of metal that he had gotten,' Booth told DailyMail.com. 'I had struggled, but when he put that next to my throat – that was the end of my fight.'

He was repeatedly and violently raped over four days by his cellmate, who was serving a 72-year sentence for raping, sodomizing and transmitting HIV or AIDS to a teenage girl. According to a federal lawsuit he filed against the prison warden, Booth sought help from seven different staff members, including a counselor.

None intervened on his behalf. 'They literally said, "We are not marriage counselors, you two work it out,"' Booth said.

It was 2009 – six years after the passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act and three years before the new guidelines under that law would be published and mandated in prisons, jails and juvenile facilities across the country.

On a weekly basis, Booth, now 50, said he still thinks about the torture he endured at the hands of another inmate. At his darkest moments in the prison he thought of suicide.

'I was seriously trying to figure out some kind of way that I could just end it all,' he said. 'I just didn't want to hurt anymore. I just didn't want to be alive.'

While Booth had HIV before the sexual assault, he said the physical and emotional trauma of the experience ravaged his health, causing the disease to progress to full-blown AIDS.

A spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation provided a statement confirming that the agency reached a $30,000 settlement with Booth for his ordeal.

While Booth asked for help and repeatedly tried to report his sexual assault, many more victims are too afraid to report their rapes.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...15-years-passage-law-intended-end-crisis.html

 

[Satanica]

A measely $30,000? Geeze, the Canadian kid who couldn't even prove he had been raped on the scared straight type program cleaned up on his suit.

 

[lithiumgirl]

Great info at the link.

Jail is hard ... like even if you have a easy time ... its still hard. You have to have friends, money ... and you do have to prove yourself. I would have played nice and willing ... like, I can suck it better if you put the shank away ... you're making me nervous. And when the shank was out of site I would have severed his penis with my teeth ... or died trying.

 

[Sejanus]

I got to say I am curious what he was in for in the first place.
Well I'll be honest if it was something that was ultraviolent I really don't have a hell of a lot of Sympathy for the guy.
On the other hand if it was something that was reasonably innocuous then that's a whole different situation altogether.
Yes I understand that makes me totally judgmental on the scale of rape... tough.

 

[Fellofftheporch]

Why doesn'tthis sort of thing happen to all the assholes we see on here endure such things as this?

 

[ghosttruck]

I got to say I am curious what he was in for in the first place.

Typically they do not put sexual offenders in the same cell, pod or barracks as not sexual offenders. People committing sexual crimes are always a target and the lowest rung on the prison ladder. Most gangs have an automatic "green light on them".

 

[lithiumgirl]

Why doesn'tthis sort of thing happen to all the assholes we see on here endure such things as this?

Because they crack for PC as soon as they get in the building.

 

[Keepalowprofile]

Why doesn'tthis sort of thing happen to all the assholes we see on here endure such things as this?

We're never around for the after party.
Things like this probably do happen to some of the perps from these stories. We just never get the follow up.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Our movement to end prisoner rape lost one of its most powerful advocates on February 22, 2021, when Michael Joseph Booth passed away. Joe, as he was known to friends, was one of the movement’s most recognizable faces — a fearless spokesperson who shared his story of being raped in prison to raise awareness of this violence and champion the humanity of survivors.

“Joe Booth was a true hero in the fight for safety and dignity for incarcerated people,” said Linda McFarlane, JDI’s Executive Director. “He had a unique ability to reach people who were hesitant to address prisoner rape or to work with incarcerated survivors — leading them to a place of empathy and understanding. I have no doubt that he inspired countless advocates who are now committed to ensuring that incarcerated survivors get the protection and support they deserve.”

“All of us at JDI are grieving Joe’s loss,” said McFarlane. “He was both incredibly kind and deeply committed, and we were so lucky to have him in our movement. We will honor Joe’s memory by continuing the work to fight prisoner rape.”

JDI Remembers Survivor Advocate Joe Booth – Just Detention International

justdetention.org