When FAIR filed its lawsuit last month on behalf of Faith Booher-Smith, an incarcerated woman at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, we knew her story deserved to be heard. This week, it was.
On May 19, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) formally notified Washington Governor Bob Ferguson that the federal government is opening an investigation into whether Washington’s practice of housing male inmates in its women’s prison violates the constitutional rights of female prisoners. The DOJ will examine whether Washington engages in a pattern or practice of Eighth Amendment violations, including its response to allegations of sexual assault, rape, voyeurism, and sexual intimidation at the facility.
Faith’s story is also reaching a national audience. Fox News reported on her lawsuit earlier this month, and the Washington State Standard covered the DOJ investigation this week. When major outlets cover a case like Faith’s, it becomes harder to look away.
This is a significant development, and it begins with one woman's courage.
Faith is a woman serving at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (“WCCW”). She is not a symbol or a political argument. She is a person who, in August 2025, was violently attacked in a common area of the facility where she lives. According to her federal lawsuit, the man who attacked her approached from behind, struck her in the face, grabbed her hair, threw her to the ground, and kicked her repeatedly. She suffered facial bruising, swelling, and a laceration inside her mouth. A corrections officer was present and did not intervene.
The man who attacked her is a convicted sex offender with a documented history of violence. He had been transferred into the women’s facility under Washington’s gender-identity housing policy, which allows inmates to request placement based on self-identified gender. A corrections official at his prior facility had specifically warned against the transfer. That warning was not heeded.
In the weeks before the attack, Faith had noticed the inmate watching her and had tried to avoid him. She had nowhere to go. She could not leave. The state had placed her there, and the state had placed him there, too.
Faith came forward despite the vulnerabilities that come with being incarcerated and despite the difficulty of bringing a federal lawsuit from behind prison walls. Her courage in doing so has now contributed to a federal investigation that may protect women across Washington’s corrections system.
Faith’s lawsuit, which FAIR brought in partnership with the America First Policy Institute, argues that her attack was not an isolated incident. It alleges that other women at WCCW have been physically assaulted, threatened, intimidated, and sexually harassed by male inmates housed alongside them, and that state officials were on notice about these risks long before Faith was hurt.
FAIR has members currently incarcerated at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. They have come to us directly, describing harm and fear resulting from this policy. Their identities cannot be disclosed for their own protection, but their voices inform everything we do in this case. This is not an abstract legal argument for us. It’s personal.
FAIR is committed to defending equal protection for all under the law, without exception and without regard to which group is affected. That commitment is grounded in a recognition shared by our members across the political spectrum: that biological sex is a meaningful and legally significant category, particularly in settings like incarceration where physical safety depends on it. When women in state custody are exposed to foreseeable harm because of a policy that places ideology above that reality, that is an equal protection issue. It’s also a civil rights issue. The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Housing women with male inmates who have histories of violence and sexual offenses, and then failing to protect those women when harm occurs, is not a gray area.
FAIR has been consistent in its respect for the dignity of all people: equal protection means equal protection for everyone. The women inside Washington’s corrections system have the same constitutional rights as everyone else, and a government that cannot guarantee their physical safety has failed its most basic obligation. This case is not about hostility toward any group; it’s about a specific policy that has produced documented harm to incarcerated women, and about the legal and constitutional obligations of the state to prevent that harm.
We do not take cases because they are politically convenient. A prison cell does not diminish anyone's constitutional rights, and when those rights are violated, FAIR pays attention — regardless of who the victim is or where she lives.
The DOJ’s investigation does not guarantee a favorable outcome for Faith, but it’s a meaningful signal that the concerns raised in her lawsuit, and by women at WCCW more broadly, have triggered federal scrutiny. When the DOJ writes a formal letter to a sitting governor saying we are watching what is happening in your women’s prison, that matters.
We will continue to stand with Faith. We will keep you informed as this case develops, and we are grateful to everyone in this community who supports the principle that civil rights are not conditional.
Cases like Faith's are possible because of supporters like you.
Federal civil rights litigation is complex and costly, and FAIR is committed to seeing this through. If you would like to support our litigation, please consider making a donation today. Every contribution helps us stand with people like Faith who have no one else in their corner.
With gratitude,
Monica Harris
Executive Director, FAIR
The War on Words: A Conversation with Nadine Strossen
From college campuses to corporate boardrooms to the chambers of Congress, the pressure to restrict speech is intensifying, and it’s coming from every direction. Nadine Strossen and Greg Lukianoff have heard every argument for censorship, and they take each one apart in their new book, The War On Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech―And Why They Fail.
Join Fair For All’s Executive Director Monica Harris on Thursday June 11th, 4pm PT / 7pm ET, for a conversation with Strossen, a member of FAIR’s Board of Advisors and former ACLU president, as they dissect the case for censorship and what it will take to defend free expression in an era that is increasingly hostile to it.
This webinar will be livestreamed on FAIR’s X, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Zoom.
FAIR in Conversation is Back!
This month’s topic: What happens when certain questions become too dangerous to ask? Join FAIR In Conversation on Wednesday, May 27th, 8pm ET, for a discussion on taboo topics, alleged hoaxes, and the role of open inquiry in the search for truth.
FAIR in Conversation has relaunched with a new monthly format built for this moment. We’re leaning away from books and into the issues themselves: the debates, decisions, and developments that are defining what fairness, free speech, and equal dignity mean in America, and beyond, right now.
Each session will center on a pressing topic of the day, drawing on a curated mix of articles, book summaries, short essays, podcasts, films, and other multimedia resources to ground the conversation before opening the floor for discussion. Sessions will be virtual, open to all FAIR members, and designed to be as accessible as they are substantive. You don’t need to have read anything in advance. Just bring your curiosity, your willingness to listen, and your commitment to engage in good faith.
These are exactly the conversations America needs now, and we are committed to modeling them. Sessions will run monthly from April 29th to September 23rd. We hope you’ll join us!
FAIR Educators Alliance 2025-2026
Join the FAIR Educators Alliance for the 2025–2026 school year to equip PK–12 educators with the knowledge, strategies, and community support they need to foster schools that are more enriching and free from bias for students and educators.
Each monthly gathering will open with updates and presentations from FAIR staff, fellows, Chapter Leaders, and occasional guest speakers. Together, we’ll explore strategies to support educators, communities, and local chapters—and to advance positive change at the local, regional, and national levels.
Following the presentations, participants will have space for open-forum discussions to connect, seek advice, and coordinate on pressing issues in their schools. Breakout rooms will be divided into PK-6 and 7-12 grade levels with experienced teachers facilitating those conversations.
Meetings: First Thursday of each month at 7 PM ET via Zoom Duration: 1 hour
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Thank goodness you're dealing with the Trump administration rather than the Biden administration. I guess voting really DOES make a difference in peoples' lives.