A journalist was told her skirt was too short and she was asked to leave an Alabama prison where she was attending and reporting on an execution.
Ivana Hrynkiw was covering the execution of Joe Nathan James Jr at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore when she was told that she needed to cover up.
James, 49, was sentenced to death for killing Faith Hall in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1994, and he was executed by lethal injection on Thursday.
But to witness the execution, Ms Hrynkiw said that she had to borrow a pair of fisherman’s waders from a local television photographer and put on a pair of tennis shoes as her sandals which exposed her toes were also unacceptable.
It was Alabama Department of Corrections Public Information Officer Kelly Betts who reportedly told her that the outfit was not appropriate.
“I have worn this skirt to prior executions without incident, to work, professional events and more and I believe it is more than appropriate. At 5′10″ with my heels on, I am a tall and long-legged person,” she said on Twitter.
Ms Hrynkiw said she tried to lower her skirt as much as possible to comply but it did not work and she had to put on the fisherman’s waders.
“I put on the man’s pants and attached the suspenders underneath my shirt to stay up,” she said.
“Despite wearing a pair of waders from a man I have never met and casual tennis shoes, I continued to do my job,” Hrynkiw said. “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.”
After contacting the prison for an explanation of why her clothing was inappropriate, she was directed to the dress code for prison visits which is given online, reported Al.com.
It states: “All dresses, skirts, and pants shall extend below the knee (females only). Splits/Slits must be knee length or lower (females only)."
And for shoes it gives a list of what is now allowed which are: “slippers, shower shoes, and beach shoes.”
While Ms Hrynkiw had attended executions before in similar attire a prison spokeswoman reportedly said that the code had not been enforced before and that the new warden, Terry Raybon, intended to do so.
