Women Sue Michigan Prisons for $500M Over Alleged Illegal Recordings

A $500 million lawsuit has been filed against the Michigan Department of Corrections and several state officials, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer, alleging that hundreds of incarcerated women at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility were illegally recorded during strip searches, while showering, and using the toilet. Attorneys claim that prison staff, under a policy directive, used body cameras to film women in various states of undress, a practice considered unprecedented and not used in any other state. The lawsuit asserts that these recordings continued even after a policy change in March 2025 formally banned the use of cameras during such searches. Plaintiffs describe the experience as a severe abuse of power that retraumatized many survivors of sexual assault, with some officers allegedly making lewd comments during the searches. The suit seeks monetary damages, the destruction of all recordings, injunctive relief, and mandatory retraining for corrections staff. Advocates argue that the policy represents one of the most egregious privacy violations in the nation and has inflicted lasting psychological harm on those affected.