Phoenix cops have cited more than 450 people. "You're being prosecuted because of what you're wearing."

In January, a 23-year-old woman sat in Phoenix Municipal Court listening to a prosecutor lay out the evidence against her. On the night of her arrest, she was scantily dressed, the prosecutor told the judge. She also had condoms in her purse and got into a car with a man.

In Phoenix, that was enough to charge her with a crime.

“Given the way the defendant was dressed, as well as a statement as to a date, and her getting in the vehicle with this witness — there is evidence of manifesting prostitution," a prosecutor told Municipal Court Judge Alex Navidad.

Or, more specifically, “manifesting an intent to commit or solicit an act of prostitution.” An obscure city ordinance in Phoenix makes this act a crime with a mandatory sentence of at least 15 days in jail.

The woman, whose name Phoenix New Times is withholding to protect her privacy, is one of more than 450 people in Phoenix who have been charged with manifestation of prostitution over the past eight years. The ordinance, which has been called unconstitutional by the ACLU of Arizona, allows the act of flagging down a car or wearing provocative clothing to be used as grounds to cite someone.

In 2014, the city’s prosecution of Monica Jones under the ordinance drew national outcry. Civil rights organizations condemned the arrest of Jones, a transgender activist and social work student. Even celebrities spoke out against the city’s use of the law.

But Phoenix has not stopped using the ordinance, according to data obtained by New Times.

A review of the data showed that hundreds of people — including 90 in 2022 — have been charged with manifesting prostitution since Jones’ case. Over the last two years, the majority of those charged were Black

  • pancakesyrupyum@kbin.social
    45·
    2 years ago

    It’s Phoenix. She’s lucky the cops didn’t execute her on the spot.

    Y’all remember that time they did that? I remember.

      • pancakesyrupyum@kbin.social
        17·
        2 years ago

        Wait, you’re telling me police officers in Phoenix have executed a random person more than once?

        Next you’re going to tell me they’ve recently kept slaves in air-conditionless tents in one of the hottest counties in the country.

  • meat_popsicle@sh.itjust.works
    18·
    2 years ago

    Man, don’t you just love thoughtcrimes? They don’t even need to wait for you to actually do anything - they can just guess you intend to do something and jail you.

    “No reasonable person would dress scantily” they say in a place that gets over 110f in the shade. “No reasonable person would carry condoms” they say when we have XDR Gonorrhea, HIV, and Hep C. “It was a known prostitution area” they say, assuming Google Maps publishes known prostitution areas so we can all know where to avoid. “It’s manifesting an intent…” but an intent is not a crime - there’s no injured party with a thought - what damages/punishment could possibly be awarded/inflicted to make a party whole?

    It’s fucking farcical how lawyers will defend laws like this, yet also claim to follow logic and reasoning.

  • BeardedPip@kbin.social
    18·
    2 years ago

    We REALLY need to decriminalize and destigmatize sex work. Society has not collapse after pot and gambling legalization. All of us will be better off with sex work being just a part of the world.

  • phamanhvu01@lemmy.world
    12·
    2 years ago

    I thought I’d never say this, but America is looking really like a third-world country lately. Of course that’s too much of a generalization, but shit like this, and school shootings, and etc etc…makes you really wondering if you get what I mean.

    • MasterOBee Master/King@lemmy.world
      4·
      2 years ago

      I get we have problems, but holy shit. Stop saying this.

      We are not a third world country, and someone even comparing us to one just shows they’ve never been to a 3rd world country, outside of maybe an enclosed resort.