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Iowa warden ordered guard to keep playing movies featuring graphic violence, sex
State lawyers are admitting that an Iowa prison warden ordered a guard to stop shutting off movies that she felt had inappropriate violent and sexual content for inmates.
The Iowa Attorney General's Office released its response Monday to a lawsuit brought by Kristine Sink, a correctional officer at the Fort Madison prison.
Sink's lawsuit describes how she'd complained about the practice of allowing mentally-ill sex offenders and murderers to watch programs with graphic violence and sex. She says superiors dismissed complaints about the movies, which aroused inmates and made them hostile.
The response denies that Sink's superiors retaliated against her and failed to protect her safety. But it admits Warden Nick Ludwick ordered Sink in 2011 to "discontinue shutting off movies that have been screened and deemed appropriate for viewing."
In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo, correctional officer Kristine Sink speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Iowa City, Iowa, about her lawsuit against officials at the state penitentiary in Fort Madison. Sink said she fought for years against the practice of allowing inmates to watch movies that contained graphic scenes of sex and violence. (AP Photo/Ryan J. Foley)
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