1 month ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The beleaguered national Bureau of Prisons said Monday it will adjacent a women's situation successful California known arsenic nan "rape club" contempt attempts to betterment nan troubled installation aft an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant staff-on-inmate intersexual abuse.
Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters said successful a connection to nan AP that nan agency had "taken unprecedented steps and provided a tremendous magnitude of resources to reside culture, recruitment and retention, aging infrastructure — and astir captious — worker misconduct."
WATCHDOG REPORT PAINTS PICTURE OF BUREAU OF PRISONS IN CRISIS
"Despite these steps and resources, we person wished that FCI Dublin is not gathering expected standards and that nan champion people of action is to adjacent nan facility," Peters said. "This determination is being made aft ongoing information of nan effectiveness of those unprecedented steps and further resources."
The announcement of Dublin's closure represents an bonzer acknowledgement by nan Bureau of Prisons that its much-promised efforts to amended nan civilization and situation location person not worked. Many attempts to stem nan problems astatine Dublin person travel aft nan AP investigation revealed a shape of maltreatment and mismanagement that crossed years, moreover decades.
The Federal Correctional Institution stands successful Dublin, Calif., Dec. 5, 2022. The national Bureau of Prisons says it is readying to adjacent a women’s situation successful California known arsenic nan "rape club" contempt attempts to betterment nan troubled installation aft an Associated Press investigation exposed rampant staff-on-inmate intersexual abuse. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Just 10 days earlier nan closure announcement, a national judge took nan unprecedented measurement of appointing a typical maestro to oversee nan prison.
ADVOCATES WANT PRISONERS FREED
FCI Dublin, astir 21 miles (34 kilometers) eastbound of Oakland, is 1 of six women-only national prisons and nan only 1 westbound of nan Rocky Mountains. It presently houses 605 inmates — 504 inmates successful its main situation and different 101 astatine an adjacent minimum-security camp. That fig is down from a full of 760 prisoners successful February 2022.
The women presently housed astatine nan situation will beryllium transferred to different facilities, Peters said, and nary labor will suffer their jobs.
Advocates person called for inmates to beryllium freed from FCI Dublin, which they opportunity is not only plagued by intersexual maltreatment but besides has hazardous mold, asbestos and inadequate wellness care.
Last August, 8 FCI Dublin inmates sued nan Bureau of Prisons, aliases BOP, alleging nan agency had grounded to guidelines retired intersexual abuse. Amaris Montes, a lawyer for nan plaintiffs, had said inmates continued to look retaliation for reporting abuse, including being put successful solitary confinement and having belongings confiscated.
Montes said she and her clients had suspected closure mightiness beryllium a possibility, but nan suddenness of nan determination truthful quickly aft nan typical maestro assignment came arsenic a shock. "It's a awesome that nan situation knows that they are not gathering law standards to support group safe from intersexual battle and intersexual harassment," Montes said Monday.
Montes said timing connected nan closure and transportation of inmates was still being worked out, but she hoped it would beryllium done successful a measured way.
"I deliberation that nan BOP is speedy to effort to transportation accountability and move accountability elsewhere arsenic nan measurement to remedy nan issue. And that would mean, you know, moving group quickly without addressing people’s needs correct now." Many of nan incarcerated women person beingness and intelligence wellness issues that request to beryllium dealt with, she said, while different inmates mightiness beryllium considered for release.
On Monday, 2 buses moved astir nan parking batch of FCI Dublin. Prison unit moved baggage and carts of supplies betwixt nan buildings and buses. An AP newsman did not spot immoderate inmates leaving nan facility.
A HISTORY OF ABUSE ALLEGATIONS — AND CONVICTIONS
Last month, nan FBI again searched nan situation and nan Bureau of Prisons again shook up its activity aft a prison guard sent to thief rehabilitate nan installation was accused of retaliating against a whistleblower inmate. Days later, a national judge overseeing lawsuits against nan prison, said she would name a typical maestro to oversee nan facility’s operations.
An AP investigation successful 2021 recovered a civilization of maltreatment and cover-ups that had persisted for years astatine nan prison. That reporting led to accrued scrutiny from Congress and pledges from nan Bureau of Prisons that it would hole problems and alteration nan civilization astatine nan prison.
Since 2021, astatine slightest 8 FCI Dublin labor person been charged pinch sexually abusing inmates. Five person pleaded guilty. Two were convicted astatine trial, including nan erstwhile warden, Ray Garcia. Another lawsuit is pending.
All intersexual activity betwixt a situation worker and an inmate is illegal. Correctional labor person important powerfulness complete inmates, controlling each facet of their lives from mealtime to lights out, and location is nary script successful which an inmate tin springiness consent.
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Inmate advocates interest that immoderate of nan information concerns astatine FCI Dublin could persist astatine nan different women's prisons. Montes said nan civilian litigation will proceed contempt nan imminent closure.
"The BOP is nan suspect successful nan case. It's not FCI Dublin," she said. "And truthful we are successful nan mindset that this did not extremity our lawsuit — that they still person a responsibilty to our clients to support them safe."
