Women in California Prison Isolation Units Face Overcrowding and Despair
by Sal Rodriguez
Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, California
Women
in Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) are reporting being held
in Administrative Segregation (Ad Seg) for over three months, following
the closure of Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW) for use as a male
facility. CCWF, which is located just down the road from the former
VSPW, is now one of three female facilities in California. Due in part
to the closure of VSPW, CCWF is currently at 174.9 percent capacity,
housing approximately 1,500 more people than it was designed for.
N.,
who has been at CCWF for many years, has reported adverse effects the
closure of VSPW had had at CCWF: "It is so crowed here at CCWF now that
VSPW is here. I am currently being housed in Ad-Seg, have been here
since Jan. I was jumped by a group of gang members trying to make a name
for themselves in the prison. I was suppose to of gone to CIW but I
guess they didn't have room for me. It is so hard to change and to try
when your crowded in with so many women who do not care about anything. I
was blessed to of not been hurt worse then I was. There is a lot of
fighting now that both prisons live together. I am serving 25-life and
just want to get back to general population so I can start my programs. I
am extremely distressed over my situation in this institution."
Among
the newly arrived individuals from VSPW are an unknown number of women
who have been held in Ad Seg upon the closure of VSPW in January. M.
reports "We were all programming inmates at VSPW. We were told we would
be housed in Ad Seg for a period of 10 days pending proper placement due
to the re-purposing of VSPW to a male facility."
That was six months ago.
M.,
like many of the approximately one hundred women in segregated housing,
is being held in segregation not for disciplinary infractions, but
because of enemy concerns. Nevertheless, California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) policy dictates that these women
must be treated the same as those placed in Ad Seg for rules violations
(e.g. fighting, drug dealing).
"Inmates
that are disruptive to other inmates or victimized by other inmates are
temporarily segregated from the inmate population by being placed in
housing areas known as Administrative Segregation Units (ASU) while
employees investigate the level of threat to the prison or inmate,"
reports the California Office of the Inspector General.
While
the Office of the Inspector General found that, in 2009, the average
length of stay in Ad Seg at CCWF is approximately two months, several
women have written to Solitary Watch reporting that they've been held in
isolation for over three months.
As
temporary housing, the outlets for women in Ad Seg are few. Captain
Travis Wright told Solitary Watch by email that "at this time the
programs we offer in the Ad-Seg unit are yard, library,
medical/dental/mental health, and showers." For 22-24 hours a day, women
are held in segregation, many in solitary confinement in small cells.
T.
has been incarcerated for 30 years, with a parole date in late 2014,
and was among the women transferred from VSPW after 25 years of
violation-free programming. She was initially held at CCWF during the
1980s but after a fellow inmate wished to kill her, T. was transferred
to VSPW. T. cannot be placed in general population at CCWF due to the
presence of the still incarcerated "enemy" at CCWF, and it appears that
T. might be forced to spend her final year in prison in segregation,
alongside inmates there for disciplinary issues.
T.
wrote Solitary Watch that "it’s disheartening to be in Ad Seg as I am
locked up in a cell 24 hours a day. I only receive six hours of exercise
a week, which consists of a small fenced in cement yard that has no
place to sit except on the cement floor. I just go out for the fresh
air."
She
must be stripped naked before being allowed out to the cement yard and,
although she goes to the yard by herself, she is strip searched again
upon returning from the cement yard.
"I
cannot come out of my cell unless I am handcuffed behind my back even
just to shower. It is difficult to carry stuff while I am handcuffed. I
get a shower three times a week. I can only buy things from the canteen
as much as someone here for disciplinary reasons. In fact, SHU inmates
are entitled to more stuff on their canteen list as ASU inmates. I am
here for non-disciplinary reasons and receiving less," T. reports.
Presently,
the prison officials are considering placing T. in the Security Housing
Unit at California Institution for Women (CIW), or, isolated housing
generally reserved for gang members and individuals who threaten the
safety of others.
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