A journalist has revealed she was ordered to leave the viewing area for the execution of an Alabama prisoner as her skirt was too short. Ivana Hrynkiew Shatara was following the execution of Joe Nathan James Jr. at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility when she was asked to leave and change her clothes.
In other news… pic.twitter.com/hoSlZJTCys
— Ivana Hrynkiw Shatara (@IvanaSuzette) July 29, 2022
- Ivana was left feeling “embarrassed.” As you can imagine, it wasn’t great being humiliated by someone telling you that you weren’t wearing suitable clothing… at an execution, of all things. She took to Twitter to share her experience of what happened, saying that while she was initially not planning to go public, someone else who was present “called attention to it” so she wanted to address it.
- It wasn’t the first time Ivana had worn the skirt. It had never been a problem previously, but a corrections officer clearly at James’ execution clearly didn’t like it. “Tonight, a representative of the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) told me publicly I couldn’t view the execution because my skirt was too short. I have worn this skirt to prior executions without incident, to work, professional events, and more and I believe it is more than appropriate,” she wrote. “At 5’7″, and 5’10” with my heels on, I am a tall and long-legged person. I tried to pull my skirt to my hips to make the skirt longer, but was told it was still not appropriate.”
- She didn’t think she was going to be able to do her job. Ivana had come to report on the execution and being told that she had to leave because of her clothing meant she could have missed being able to do her job. Thankfully, Ivana shared that a “very kind photographer” from a Birmingham TV station offered her his rain gear – “waterproof, Columbia PFG style fisherman’s wader pants” which the DOC officer “deemed an appropriate swap” for the skirt.
- That wasn’t the end of the problem. Ivana went on to say that her shoes “were also too revealing” according to that same prison officer. Thankfully, Ivana had “a new pair of tennis shoes in [her] car.” She added: “Despite wearing a pair of waders from a man I have never met and casual tennis shoes, I continued to do my job. This was an uncomfortable situation, and I felt embarrassed to have my body and my clothes questioned in front of a room of people I mostly had never met. I sat down, tried to stop blushing, and did my work. As women often have to do.”
Continued ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/kErOIhH3l2
— Ivana Hrynkiw Shatara (@IvanaSuzette) July 30, 2022
