Audits claim Alabama prisons meet rape standards as feds launch sexual violence investigation

Audits of the prison rape elimination practices of 11 of Alabama's 14 men's prisons and its sole women's prison conducted over the past several months report that the facilities are doing a stellar job of enacting policies aimed at reducing sexual violence.

That picture of the state's prisons seems to contradict a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announcement on Thursday that it is launching an investigation into a number of persistent problems at Alabama's 14 men's prisons, with sexual violence and rape near the top of its priority list.