Analysis: Overlooking the Injustice at Women Penitentiaries

All three of the cases touched on the overarching theme of discrimination on the basis of

sex in women prisons. Both the Jeldness and Klinger cases focused specifically on the

Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause because in both of these cases women inmates

felt that their institution was not giving them equal opportunities or equal programs as the

neighboring male institutions were. However, Torres's primary focus was a correctional facility

discriminating on the basis of sex, but with a twist to it. This case was focused on a male

correctional officer feeling that he was discriminated against due to his sex and lacked equal

employment opportunity and fought for his right under the Title VII act of the Civil Rights Act

of 1964. This case showcase how women correctional facilities are corrupted in every aspect by

discriminating regarding the correctional officers as well as the programs and rights offered to

the inmates. A woman in prison is a topic that is barely spoken about and therefore the

inequalities of these inmates are looked over. These cases are evidence that incarcerated women

are not getting fair treatment and this is still an ongoing issue today.

These cases were very informative because they differed due to each plaintiff having a

different view of how their right was being violated. As stated before, Jeldness and Klinger were

mostly similar regarding the same amendment being seen as violated and how they compared

themselves to the male institutions. However, Jeldness spoke on many issues at hand. She

claimed that the Oregon State Department of Corrections discriminated against women by

lacking six educational and vocational training programs. After a thorough analysis by the court,

they did not solely declare one ruling. Rather, since Jeldness came in with many issues, they

reversed previous standings, remanded others, and affirmed previous rulings. This shows how
the court thoroughly looked into each program and took the time to compare it to the male prison

to provide a fair and well inform holding.

Klinger, I found to be very interesting because it does not only focus on the programs that

the prison was lacking, like in Jeldness but if focused on deciding if the Nebraska Center for

Women was defined as being “similarly situated” as the Nebraska Penitentiary for Men. The

court handled this case with a great mode of approach. It was decided that first, they would have

to decide if the institutions were “similarly situated” before they could even interpret the

Fourteenth Amendment of the Equal Protection Clause. After, a thorough analysis the court

decided that the Equal Protection Clause could not be violated because they were never similar

and comparable in the first place. This opened my mind to how the court does not simply assume

that the plaintiff’s claim is a valid statement. Rather, they check the plaintiff's claim to make sure

that the argument is even valid and then go from there.

These cases are important because they are all evidence of how the women's prisons are

not run appropriately and the fact that they are not held to the same standards as male prisons.

More males are indeed in prisons than females, but that does not mean that women's prisons

should not be conducted fairly and similarly to males’ prisons. These cases also show how

discrimination on the basis of sex is still real and an ongoing problem. However, it is becoming

an arising issue on topics that are not casually brought up in conversation and topics that quite

frankly people do not care to address. Women in prison are not something that the common

people consider and how their rights can be violated. However, whenever a person is being

discriminated against on the basis of sex it should not be tolerated no matter the location,

circumstance, or situation.
 On April 30, 2018, Adam Harris published an article on the Atlantic about how women's

prisons are not held to the same standards as male prisons. The fact that the article was even

written shows how this has been an ongoing issue. Harris says that the Government

Accountability Office became aware of the inequitable treatment of women in prison by the 1980

report to Congress. That was when it became known, not only to the government but also to the

public, that there is a problem with how women in prison are being treated. Since then, women in

prison have been filing lawsuits and they keep on winning (Harris, 2018). However, though these

women are standing up and fighting for their rights, they only get justifiable treatment when they

bring it to court, or else, they will just get overlooked. In some ways, yes, prisons are becoming

better and more equal, but barely enough to be seen as constitutionally just. What struck me was

Harris’s wording of, “Those victories [inmates going to court] forced the government to take

notice” (Harris, 2018, pg. 2). Honestly, while I was reading this, I was hit with two opposing

feelings. I was happy to see that women were fighting for their rights and getting desired

outcomes but saddened that it took the government this long to notice and it “forced” them to

become aware.

Now, around four decades after this report in 1980, the inequality between male and

female prisons is still extensive (Harris, 2018). All of these cases, especially Jeldness and

Klinger, show that inmates are aware of this deprivation and want a change, but it does not seem

to be happening righteously. Maybe it is because they are not respected in our society, so their

rights do not seem as prominent as others, but they are still people, people who are protected by

and spoken about in our constitution. Even if they are criminals, some are on the path of

reformation and the government should be treating them justly, or else the inmates will again fall

into the vicious cycle of criminality.

 References

Harris, Adam. “Women in Prison Take Home Economics, While Men Take Carpentry.” The

Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Apr. 2018,

www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/04/the-continuing-disparity-in-womens-prison-

education/559274/.