The inmate's name has been omitted for her safety* I will just call her M.
M's Letter In Part*
She Wrote To Me Begging To Get Them Help. M is being housed at CIW in Corona Ca.
Her Letter Reads>
"The staff here seems to warrant violence~There were a few girls fighting , it was really bad they even cut one inmate. Instead of moving one or more of them. They are keeping them in the same unit.
The one that cut the other did not even go to Ad-Seg. Some of them have black eyes from being beat up all the time. Yet the staff is not moving them to safety, nor taking the abusers out.
It is very violent here at night, you can hear the fighting, screaming & later crying & staff does not
stop it, they do not intervene at all. Staff hangs out right out side our windows & never come to see if anyone is hurt. There are 7 women with their faces all beat. Cuts & bruses, black eyes.One was beat so severly eyeis swollen shut.
My mind is on the brink of a break down. I can not take this for much longer.
Please call up here or ask someone to please come help us.
I was returning to my cell when a staff member appeared out of no where, she grabbed my wrist and started dragging me behind her down the hall , she was yelling "you do not belong out here".
"It was not necessary to use force on me I would of went to her or stopped walking had she asked me to.
I have put in a complaint but I fear now they will start messing with me or allow another inmate to beat me.
This is a small setting & all the shady, violent stuff should not be going on like this.
Girls are written up all the time no matter how hard to keep good time.
Right after going to the bathroom they came in & demanded a urine sample,
the woman said she couldn't pee but would try. The sample was to small~she was written up.
Everyone is locked down every day for 22 hours a day. We have no visitation or time out side, just another way to of us in lock down 23 hours a day,. I am becoming so depressed, I just don't know how much more I can stand.
We have No Voice, There Is No One To Help Us. PLEASE HELP!
M. From C.I.W.
------------
This is one of the two letters that were written from Central California's prisons.
The other inmate: Just writes the CO beat me up pretty badly while I was in the SHU at CIW. They ten transferred me to CCWF for my safety
Please try to reach my folks for me, I am not allowed phone calls because they have placed me in Isolation here also. Please, I need them to know I have been moved again & what has happened to me.
Signed E.G at CCWF In Chowchilla Ca.
Monday, April 14, 2014
FBI probes alleged abuse of inmates by deputies at West Valley Detention Center
FBI probes alleged abuse of inmates by deputies at West Valley Detention Center
By Doug Saunders, The Sun
and Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/11/14, 7:18 PM PDT|
RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> The FBI is investigating the alleged abuse of inmates at the West Valley Detention Center involving at least three San Bernardino County deputies no longer working for the Sheriff’s Department, officials said Friday.
Sheriff John McMahon ordered an administrative investigation after allegations surfaced March 5 by his ranking commanders about the possible abuse of inmates at the jail, according to a sheriff’s news release.
“I will not tolerate any misconduct by department personnel,” McMahon said in a statement. “These allegations are being taken very seriously and this department is determined to get answers.”
During its internal investigation, the Sheriff’s Department learned the FBI had received a similar tip about the alleged abuse.
Both agencies are cooperating with each other to ensure a comprehensive investigation, according to a sheriff’s news release.
As of Thursday, the three deputies assigned to the jail were no longer employed by the department. No other information was disclosed about them.Sheriff’s Cpl. Randy Naquin said the FBI is conducting the criminal investigation.
The FBI is investigating possible civil rights violations of inmates at the jail in March, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
She said the case will ultimately be submitted to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles for consideration of criminal charges.
Naquin could not say how extensive the investigation will be or if any other deputies or jail staff had been accused of similar conduct.
“We want to make sure the integrity of the investigation is intact,” Naquin said.
The news comes in the wake of a jail abuse scandal in Los Angeles County in which 18 current or former sheriff’s deputies have been accused of abusing inmates at the Men’s Central Jail. U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said the alleged incidents did “not occur in a vacuum” and that the pattern of behavior of which the defendants are accused had become “institutionalized.”
In 2008, a grand jury investigation revealed dysfunction and disarray at Orange County’s Theo Lacy Jail, where a deputy exchanged text messages and watched the television show “Cops” as a 41-year-old inmate was beaten to death by other inmates over a 50-minute period, according to published reports.
http://www.sbsun.com/social-affairs/20140411/fbi-probes-alleged-abuse-of-inmates-by-deputies-at-west-valley-detention-center
By Doug Saunders, The Sun
and Joe Nelson, The Sun
Posted: 04/11/14, 7:18 PM PDT|
RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> The FBI is investigating the alleged abuse of inmates at the West Valley Detention Center involving at least three San Bernardino County deputies no longer working for the Sheriff’s Department, officials said Friday.
Sheriff John McMahon ordered an administrative investigation after allegations surfaced March 5 by his ranking commanders about the possible abuse of inmates at the jail, according to a sheriff’s news release.
“I will not tolerate any misconduct by department personnel,” McMahon said in a statement. “These allegations are being taken very seriously and this department is determined to get answers.”
During its internal investigation, the Sheriff’s Department learned the FBI had received a similar tip about the alleged abuse.
Both agencies are cooperating with each other to ensure a comprehensive investigation, according to a sheriff’s news release.
As of Thursday, the three deputies assigned to the jail were no longer employed by the department. No other information was disclosed about them.Sheriff’s Cpl. Randy Naquin said the FBI is conducting the criminal investigation.
The FBI is investigating possible civil rights violations of inmates at the jail in March, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
She said the case will ultimately be submitted to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles for consideration of criminal charges.
Naquin could not say how extensive the investigation will be or if any other deputies or jail staff had been accused of similar conduct.
“We want to make sure the integrity of the investigation is intact,” Naquin said.
The news comes in the wake of a jail abuse scandal in Los Angeles County in which 18 current or former sheriff’s deputies have been accused of abusing inmates at the Men’s Central Jail. U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said the alleged incidents did “not occur in a vacuum” and that the pattern of behavior of which the defendants are accused had become “institutionalized.”
In 2008, a grand jury investigation revealed dysfunction and disarray at Orange County’s Theo Lacy Jail, where a deputy exchanged text messages and watched the television show “Cops” as a 41-year-old inmate was beaten to death by other inmates over a 50-minute period, according to published reports.
http://www.sbsun.com/social-affairs/20140411/fbi-probes-alleged-abuse-of-inmates-by-deputies-at-west-valley-detention-center
Judge: California Mistreating Mentally Ill Inmates
Judge: California Mistreating Mentally Ill Inmates
SACRAMENTO, Calif. April 11, 2014 (AP)
By DON THOMPSON Associated Press
A federal judge ruled Thursday that California's treatment of mentally ill inmates violates constitutional safeguards against cruel and unusual punishment through excessive use of pepper spray and isolation.
U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton in Sacramento gave the corrections department time to issue updated policies on the use of both methods but did not ban them.
He offered a range of options on how officials could limit the use of pepper spray and isolation units when dealing with more than 33,000 mentally ill inmates, who account for 28 percent of the 120,000 inmates in California's major prisons.
The ruling came after the public release of videotapes made by prison guards showing them throwing chemical grenades and pumping large amounts of pepper spray into the cells of mentally ill inmates, some of whom are heard screaming."Most of the videos were horrific," Karlton wrote in his 74-page order.Corrections department spokeswoman Deborah Hoffman said prison officials are reviewing the order.Prison officials had already promised to make some changes in how much pepper spray they use and how long mentally ill inmates can be kept in isolation, but attorneys representing inmates said those changes did not go far enough.
Karlton gave the state 60 days to work with his court-appointed special master to further revise its policy for using force against mentally ill inmates.
The inmates' attorneys and witnesses also told Karlton during recent hearings that the prolonged solitary confinement of mentally ill inmates frequently aggravates their condition, leading to a downward spiral.Karlton agreed, ruling that placement of seriously mentally ill inmates in segregated housing causes serious psychological harm, including exacerbation of mental illness, inducement of psychosis, and increased risk of suicide.
"He made findings in every area of ongoing constitutional violations," said Michael Bien, an attorney who represents mentally ill inmates in the long-running class-action lawsuit. "Despite all these years of legal efforts, he found that there needs to be more done."
Karlton ordered the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop a plan to keep mentally ill inmates out of segregation units when there is a substantial risk that it will worsen their illness or prompt suicide attempts.He found that keeping mentally ill inmates in isolation when they have not done anything wrong violates their rights against cruel and unusual punishment. He gave the state 60 days to stop the practice of holding mentally ill inmates in the segregation units simply because there is no room for them in more appropriate housing.Even before the latest rulings, the hearings before Karlton spurred the department to limit the time that mentally ill inmates spend in isolation units if they have not broken prison rules.
Karlton also ruled that mentally ill inmates cannot be placed in special security housing units unless corrections officials can demonstrate that the isolation will not further harm their mental state.
The state's practice of housing inmates in the units for years, even decades, prompted a series of widespread inmate hunger strikes and led to two bills being considered in the Legislature this year that would restrict their use.Finally, Karlton ordered the state to revise its policy for strip-searching mentally ill inmates as they enter and leave housing units.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-california-mistreating-mentally-ill-inmates-23283553?page=2
SACRAMENTO, Calif. April 11, 2014 (AP)
By DON THOMPSON Associated Press
A federal judge ruled Thursday that California's treatment of mentally ill inmates violates constitutional safeguards against cruel and unusual punishment through excessive use of pepper spray and isolation.
U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Karlton in Sacramento gave the corrections department time to issue updated policies on the use of both methods but did not ban them.
He offered a range of options on how officials could limit the use of pepper spray and isolation units when dealing with more than 33,000 mentally ill inmates, who account for 28 percent of the 120,000 inmates in California's major prisons.
The ruling came after the public release of videotapes made by prison guards showing them throwing chemical grenades and pumping large amounts of pepper spray into the cells of mentally ill inmates, some of whom are heard screaming."Most of the videos were horrific," Karlton wrote in his 74-page order.Corrections department spokeswoman Deborah Hoffman said prison officials are reviewing the order.Prison officials had already promised to make some changes in how much pepper spray they use and how long mentally ill inmates can be kept in isolation, but attorneys representing inmates said those changes did not go far enough.
Karlton gave the state 60 days to work with his court-appointed special master to further revise its policy for using force against mentally ill inmates.
The inmates' attorneys and witnesses also told Karlton during recent hearings that the prolonged solitary confinement of mentally ill inmates frequently aggravates their condition, leading to a downward spiral.Karlton agreed, ruling that placement of seriously mentally ill inmates in segregated housing causes serious psychological harm, including exacerbation of mental illness, inducement of psychosis, and increased risk of suicide.
"He made findings in every area of ongoing constitutional violations," said Michael Bien, an attorney who represents mentally ill inmates in the long-running class-action lawsuit. "Despite all these years of legal efforts, he found that there needs to be more done."
Karlton ordered the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop a plan to keep mentally ill inmates out of segregation units when there is a substantial risk that it will worsen their illness or prompt suicide attempts.He found that keeping mentally ill inmates in isolation when they have not done anything wrong violates their rights against cruel and unusual punishment. He gave the state 60 days to stop the practice of holding mentally ill inmates in the segregation units simply because there is no room for them in more appropriate housing.Even before the latest rulings, the hearings before Karlton spurred the department to limit the time that mentally ill inmates spend in isolation units if they have not broken prison rules.
Karlton also ruled that mentally ill inmates cannot be placed in special security housing units unless corrections officials can demonstrate that the isolation will not further harm their mental state.
The state's practice of housing inmates in the units for years, even decades, prompted a series of widespread inmate hunger strikes and led to two bills being considered in the Legislature this year that would restrict their use.Finally, Karlton ordered the state to revise its policy for strip-searching mentally ill inmates as they enter and leave housing units.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-california-mistreating-mentally-ill-inmates-23283553?page=2
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