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The Detroit News exposed years of sexual abuse of female inmates by male prison guards in Michigan. Despite a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in 1999, abuse rates increased and offenders went unpunished. The reporters discovered inmate suicides and guards who killed themselves rather than face accusations of abuse. The story also showed that a former governor had blocked outside investigations of sexual abuse in prisons. After publication, legislators convened hearings and male guards were phased out of women's prisons.