'Cruel' film shows prison horrors
By Jason Wong
Campus Correspondent
Published: Wednesday, April 6, 2011
http://www.dailycampus.com/focus/cruel-film-shows-prison-horrors-1.2146050 As part of their "Combating the Prison Industrial Complex: Testimonial, Truth & Action" series, the Rainbow Center screened the documentary "Cruel & Unusual" Wednesday night. "Cruel & Unusual" is an award-winning documentary that examines the realities faced by transgender women in men's prisons produced by Janet Baus, Dan Hunt and Reid Williams.
The documentary opens with an assertion that "a civilized society does not give cruel and unusual punishments," implying throughout that the national policy of putting people into prison based on the biological genitalia they have, and not their gender identity, is just that – a cruel and unusual punishment.
According to the documentary, 30 percent of the transgender population is incarcerated – well above the national average.
