A former competitive gymnast and survivor of sexual abuse released a statement on the stabbing of former sports doctor Larry Nassar.
A prison union leader said on Monday that Nassar was stabbed multiple times in federal prison in Florida. In her statement, Sarah Klein, who is now an attorney representing survivors of sexual abuse, wrote that the stabbing brought "no peace" to her or to other survivors that she spoke to.
"The incident forces us to vividly relive our abuse and trauma at the hands of Nassar and the institutions, including law enforcement, that protected him and allowed him to prey on children," she wrote in her post. "I want him to face the severe prison sentence he received because of the voices of survivors."
She wrote that she did not want violence inflicted on him, saying that it was "morally wrong" and "death would be an easy out for Nassar."
Nassar, 59, was stabbed during an altercation with another inmate. Joe Rojas, president of Local 506 said Nassar was stabbed twice in the neck, twice in the back, and six times in the chest. Rojas added that Nassar was in stable condition despite having a collapsed lung.
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"He is lucky to be alive," Rojas said. "“If it wasn’t for the staff who were there, he wouldn’t be with us today.”
Although Nassar is in stable condition, it's not guaranteed that he will remain that way, Rojas noted. Because he has serious injuries, "he’s not out of the woods yet," according to Rojas.
The New York Post reported that it's unclear how it happened, but it seems that a makeshift metal weapon was used.
"He’s in a special unit where he doesn’t socialize with the normal population," Rojas said. "He’s already been here since 2018 and we’ve never had an incident with him."
Rojas noted that this incident likely happened in part because the prison currently has staffing issues. Two weeks ago, there were protests due to the severe understaffing issues.
"It's unusual that this would happen in that unit," he said.
"We warned of unsafe conditions for staff and inmates," Rojas said. "You can’t expect us to protect these inmates when you don’t support us and supply us with bodies and positions."
Hundreds of girls and women said Nassar sexually abused them. Among the people who spoke up about it were Olympic champions Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and McKayla Maroney.
McKayla Maroney spoke about the abuse in a series of tweets in 2021.
Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison in 2018. More than 150 survivors gave impact statements during his sentencing hearing.
"Sir, you do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again," Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said when Nassar was sentenced. "I just signed your death warrant."
"When I watch my daughters’ eyes light up as they dance to The Nutcracker, I remember the little girl that I and all of these women used to be," Rachael Denhollander said at Nassar's sentencing hearing. "The sparkle their eyes must have had as mine did before their innocence was taken. I watched my daughters love and trust unreservedly, and I remember the long road that it has been to let myself love and be loved without fear. I think of the scars that still remain for all of us."
She also took to Twitter after the stabbing.
"Also please – do not comment on news articles or post jokes, memes, gifs, about this," she wrote. "I wrestled so often with the reality that this headline would come. So many of us knew and we carried that weight when we spoke up too."
