- Nearly all of the inmates at California’s troubled women’s prison have been transferred because it is on the verge of closure.
- The proposed closure has prompted U.S. senators to demand explanations due to reports of chaotic transfers and mistreatment during transport.
- The Bureau of Prisons has said it responds to inmates’ needs with compassion, but has faced criticism over its handling of the shutdown.
Nearly all of the inmates were transferred from a troubled women’s prison that was about to be closed. in Californiaand US senators on Wednesday demanded accountability for the plan to quickly close the establishment where sexual abuse by guards was commonplace.
As of Tuesday, only “a small group” of women remained detained at FCI Dublin, with the majority of its 605 inmates having been sent to other federal facilities this week, said Donald Murphy, a spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons, or BOP. . . The unspecified number of inmates remaining at the minimum-security prison near Oakland were awaiting release or transfer to a halfway house, he said.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the BOP expressing concern over allegations of a chaotic transfer process in which detainees on buses and planes did not receive proper medical care and were allegedly subjected to “ill-treatment, harassment, neglect and abuse while in detention”. in transit.”
BUREAU OF PRISONS TO CLOSE CALIFORNIA WOMEN’S PRISON WHERE INMATES WERE SUBJECTED TO SEXUAL ABUSE
Susan Beaty, a lawyer for inmates who have spoken out about conditions at the prison, said there were reports that during transport guards made abusive comments toward the women, “calling them snitch, reference to the closure of Dublin”. Additionally, detainees were shackled at the wrists and ankles for the duration of their long journey, despite their minimum security classification, and in some cases were denied water and access to toilets, a Beaty said.
The Federal Correctional Institution is seen in Dublin, Calif., April 15, 2024. Nearly all inmates have been transferred out of the troubled women’s prison set to be closed in California, and U.S. senators demanded, Wednesday, April 24 , an account of the plan to quickly close the facility where sexual abuse by guards was rife. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, file)
The BOP did not immediately respond to the senators’ letter, but Murphy said the office meets the needs of all inmates with “compassion and respect” during the transfer process.
“The process involved careful planning and coordination to ensure the safe transfer of women to other facilities, with particular attention paid to their specific programming, health and mental health requirements,” he said. -he wrote in an email to the Associated Press. “We remain committed to helping each individual adapt to their new environment with the necessary care and support.”
A 2021 Associated Press investigation found a “rape club” culture at the prison, where a pattern of abuse and mismanagement stretched back decades. The Bureau of Prisons has repeatedly promised to improve the culture and environment — but the decision to close the facility represented an extraordinary acknowledgment that reform efforts have failed.
FBI re-searches California’s federal women’s prison, plagued by sex abuse
Following the sudden April 15 announcement that FCI Dublin was closing, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered a case-by-case review of each inmate’s specific needs before transfers began.
In response, the office filed court papers questioning the authority of the special master appointed by the judge on April 5 to oversee the prison, charged with reviewing the status of each woman. Inmate advocates hoped the judge’s ruling would slow the shutdown. But the office continued with the process anyway, saying in a court filing that “considerable resources and man hours have already been invested in the move.”
Five Senate Judiciary Committee Members asked Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters on Wednesday to provide information on preparations for closing the facility and advice given “for the safe and humane release or transfer of individuals to other BOP establishments.
“Those detained at FCI Dublin have long endured a toxic prison culture marked by sexual assault, harassment and medical neglect by BOP staff. And now, as they are subjected to the deprivations and indignities of ‘imperfect and rushed closure and transfer protocol,’ women in detention report hostility and retaliation from BOP employees who blame them for the facility’s closure. This is unacceptable,” said the letter signed by Democratic Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey; Richard Durbin of Illinois; Jon Osoff of Georgia; and Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler of California.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Beaty said some of his clients were reportedly sent to facilities in TexasFlorida, Minnesota and West Virginia.
“These are women who were able to see their children, their parents and their loved ones with some regularity. Now they are distraught because they have been torn apart,” Beaty said.
Advocates had called for most of the inmates to be released – not transferred – from FCI Dublin, which they said was not only rife with sexual abuse but also had dangerous mold, asbestos and poor treatment. inadequate health. They also worry that some security problems may persist in other women’s prisons.
Last August, eight inmates at FCI Dublin sued the Bureau of Prisons, alleging the agency had failed to stamp out sexual abuse at the facility. Their lawyers said the civil trial would continue.
