Officials at a state prison in Alabama denied entry to a journalist, Ivana Hrynkiw, who had come to report on the execution of a death row inmate, alleging that her clothing and shoes violated the dress code, the reporter herself reported. on social media, explaining that she had chosen the same skirt and shoes that she had already worn on similar occasions.
Hrynkiw had gone to the William C. Holman Correctional Center to witness the execution of Joe Nathan James Jr., who received the lethal injection for murdering his ex-girlfriend in 1994 despite pleas from the woman's family for his life to be spared. .
“I have worn this skirt to other runs without incident, as well as to work, professional events and more, and find it more than adequate.
She's 5ft 10in in heels, I'm a tall, leggy person," explained Hrynkiw, an award-winning journalist, who has attended and witnessed seven executions.
But prison officials this time denied him entry, explaining, according to his spokeswoman, Kelly Betts, that the new prison director, Terry Raybon, had ordered the dress code to be followed.
Previously, according to the media outlet for which the journalist works, this code had been ignored.
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Hrynkiw told social media that she tried to lower her skirt to her hips to comply with the requirement, but prison officials told her that was not enough.
Holmanen Atmore prison in Alabama in January 2022. Jay Reeves / AP
A television reporter who had also come to report on the execution and who witnessed what happened
offered the journalist some waterproof fishing pants
that he kept in the trunk of his car.
“This was an awkward situation,” the journalist said, “and I felt embarrassed that my body and clothes were being questioned in front of a room full of people I had mostly never met.”
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Even so, they denied him entry because his shoes "were too revealing," according to the journalist, who had to change them for a new pair of tennis shoes that he had bought and had in the car.
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"Despite wearing the pants of a man I had just met and casual tennis shoes, I continued with my work," the journalist explained, "I sat down, tried to stop blushing and did my job. As many people often have to do women".
Kelly Ann Scott, editor-in-chief and vice president of the Alabama Media Group, said what happened to her reporter was "wrong," and filed a formal complaint with the state Department of Corrections.
“Ivana is always, always professional and despite how she was treated, she focused first on covering an execution,” said Scott, who described the incident as “sexist and an egregious violation of professional conduct” that “should not happen to her again.” to nobody".