When a prison official in Alabama told a reporter covering an execution last week that her skirt was too short, she pulled it down to her hips to make it longer. When that didn’t suffice, she borrowed a pair of fishing waders from a photographer.
Then came the issue of her shoes. The reporter, Ivana Hrynkiw Shatara of AL.com, was told her heels did not comply with the prison’s dress code because her toes were showing, and she had to return to her car to change into a pair of tennis shoes.
“I was very overwhelmed at the point, and honestly, I was just so humiliated and mortified,” Ms. Hrynkiw said in an interview on Monday.
Ms. Hrynkiw, 28, said that she had worn the skirt to cover executions without any issues. But on Thursday, when she arrived at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., to cover the death by lethal injection of Joe Nathan James Jr., a female official at the prison told her that the skirt was too short.
That’s when Ms. Hrynkiw changed into a pair of fishing waders offered to her by a photographer from a TV station in Birmingham, Ala. An Alabama Department of Corrections official said the waders were appropriate.
“From the time I started covering the criminal justice system, primarily executions, I had always been told to dress as if you’re going to a funeral,” she said. “I was just baffled because I came in looking very professional and very respectful for an event such as this, and after I had changed into this costume, it was very disrespectful.”
Kelly Ann Scott, editor in chief and vice president of content for Alabama Media Group, which oversees AL.com, said in a statement on Monday that the scrutiny of Ms. Hrynkiw’s attire was “unacceptable, unequal treatment.”
“It was sexist — and would be humiliating to any female journalist,” Ms. Scott said. “I’m proud to work with Ms. Hrynkiw, who despite treatment that would rattle many of us, continued to report the story with professionalism for our audiences in Alabama.”
Ms. Hrynkiw was not the only reporter covering the execution to have her clothing questioned at the prison on Thursday. Kim Chandler, an Associated Press reporter, was also singled out, although it was decided that her attire complied with the prison’s dress code.
Ms. Chandler, who did not immediately respond to an interview request on Monday, said in a series of tweets that, while she had covered many executions in the past two decades, “this was the first time I had to stand in the media room to have the length of my attire checked.”
She added that an official at the prison told her that the warden was now enforcing the prison’s dress code. “To be clear, I have no problem with a dress code, but please provide notice,” Ms. Chandler said.
Ms. Hrynkiw said that she was later given a copy of the dress code, which has a provision about skirt length, but does not address shoes.
The Alabama Department of Corrections did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
The dress code issues prompted AL.com and The Associated Press to send formal complaints to Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama.
Julie Pace, the executive editor of The Associated Press, said in a letter to Governor Ivey’s office that Ms. Chandler and Ms. Hrynkiw were told to stand up in the media room, “in full sight of their male colleagues and others, so that the officials could check the length of their outfits.”
She continued, “Singling out female reporters for arbitrary clothing inspections is humiliating, discriminatory and simply unacceptable behavior toward professional journalists trying to cover one of the most serious events they are called upon to witness.”
After Ms. Chandler’s dress was deemed to be in compliance with the prison’s dress code, and after Ms. Hrynkiw had changed into the waders and tennis shoes, they were allowed to witness the execution, and they both later turned in stories for their respective outlets.
Mr. James, 50, was executed on Thursday by lethal injection for the shooting death of Faith Hall, 26, in 1994, Ms. Chandler reported for The Associated Press. Ms. Hall’s daughters said that they would rather have him serve life in prison, but Governor Ivey allowed the execution to proceed, Ms. Chandler wrote. Mr. James had no last words when asked by the warden, and his official time of death was 9:27 p.m., Ms. Hrynkiw reported for AL.com.
Ms. Hrynkiw said she was initially reluctant to share her story because she didn’t want to overshadow the news she was covering.
“His story is what the important part was,” she said. “The inmate’s story, the victim’s family story — that was the point.”
Since sharing her story, Ms. Hrynkiw said she has heard from a number of women in Alabama who have faced similar encounters over dress codes in courtrooms and prisons.
“What I think is striking is that the larger issue here is so many women were not surprised by this,” she said. “While they might have been outraged, they were not surprised.”
