Idaho leaders urged to address systemic failures following prison abuse reports

Editor’s note: “Guarded by Predators” is an investigative series exposing rape and abuse by Idaho’s prison guards and the system that shields them. Find the entire series at investigatewest.org/guarded-by-predators.

BOISE (InvestigateWest) — Calls for reform are mounting after revelations of widespread sexual abuse inside Idaho women’s prisons as state officials, lawmakers and advocates demand accountability from the Department of Correction.

In a letter to Gov. Brad Little, the Southwest Idaho Chapter of the National Organization for Women condemned the state’s “shameful” failure to protect incarcerated women from sexual abuse and harassment by prison staff. Prompted by InvestigateWest’s reporting published last month, the group urged Little to order an independent investigation into co