Sheriff clears self & contractor in rape victim harassment

Tuesday, King of Zembla posted a story about a 21-year old rape victim in Florida alleging that she was jailed for two days for failing to pay $4,585 restitution after a 2003 juvenile arrest and was thereafter deprived of Plan B ("morning after pill") contraception due to an overzealous nurse acting on behalf of Jesus.

Here's a follow-up just in case your blood pressure isn't already in the danger zone.

According to the Sheriff's Office and medical provider (also known as THE ACCUSED), "Nurse Ratchet" - and I don't know the jail workers' real name because unlike other segments of society, jail workers accused of reprehensible conduct receive the luxury of not having their names printed in the newspaper - was entirely blameless.

But a three-day internal investigation by the Sheriff's Office and medical provider Armor Correctional Health Services concluded the nurse was not authorized to give her the pill.

When the woman was booked into the jail, a police officer told deputies about the medication.

But the woman was just one of 166 people booked into jail on the busy Saturday, and another deputy picked up the medication, unaware of the unusual circumstances, Parrish said.

Medications brought to the jail by inmates must be taken to medical professionals, who verify it before dispensing anything. In this case, that didn't happen, Parrish said.

He dismissed the woman's claim about religious objections.

"We categorically deny that," he said.

He refused to go into more details about the woman's jail stay, saying Moore threatened legal action. Moore declined to confirm that.

"Our story remains consistent," said Moore's wife, Alice G. Moore, who spoke on his behalf. "We do believe there are witnesses - it was in a jail after all. It is unfortunate that they refused to take responsibility."

The St. Petersberg Times used the following headline for the above-quoted story:

Nurse cleared in denial of pill

Somehow, I doubt the use of the word "cleared" is mere headline slop. It strikes me as extremely misleading. And it certainly sounds anti-victim compared to, say, "Sheriff Denies Charges."

The comments on the original story are worth a perusal.