Lawsuit says California prisons resort to excessive, race-based lockdowns
Julie Small | KPCC
When a riot breaks out in a California prison as they often do, the wardens “lock down” the inmates. That gives prison staff a chance to quell the violence, investigate the cause and isolate the inmates involved. The law gives prison officials a lot of discretion to use lockdowns to secure facilities - but there are limits. A prisoner advocacy group says California routinely violates those limits with frequent and lengthy race-based lockdowns. Today attorneys at the Prison Law Office sued CDCR in federal court to stop race-based lockdowns.
California State Prison, Sacramento houses inmates who need medical or psychiatric care. But New Folsom, as it’s known, also holds inmates that other prisons can’t handle.
One time when trouble erupted at New Folsom, the prison put a group of “Southern Hispanics” on lockdown – for seven years. Prison officials insist the lockdown was intermittent. They say they eventually let the inmates use a small yard to exercise.
But Prison Law Office attorney Rebekah Evenson doubts that. She says a review of a year’s worth of California prison records shows that during lockdowns, most wardens confine inmates to their cells 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"Two prisoners stuck in a cell built for the size of one person – many instances," says Evenson. "Two people can’t even stand up in the cell at the same time, they’re so small – 24 hours a day. No outside air. No recreation. No ability to do any exercise."
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that preventing a prisoner from outdoor exercise for more than six weeks is “cruel and unusual punishment.” The Prison Law Office says in the last fiscal year, 161 lockdowns lasted more than six weeks. Seven lasted more than a year. But Evenson says a lockdown is illegal from day one if race was the sole criteria for choosing which inmates are locked down.
Corrections officials say wardens do use race to decide who’s locked down – and for good reason. "The difficulty is in California, 'race-based' and 'gang-based' are basically the same," says Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate.
Cate says gangs generally control prisoners of the same race. Walk through any prison yard, says Cate, and ask Hispanic inmates if they belong to a race-based gang.
"They may say, 'No,'" says Cate. "But if you say, 'What if the Hispanic inmates were attacked by the white inmates, would you jump in?' They’d say, 'Yes, I have to. Otherwise I’m going to be the subject of violence if I don’t.' It’s easy maybe on paper and litigation filing to say, 'Well, see? That’s race-based.' But on those yards, those men don’t know the difference between race and gangs."
"Well, that is precisely the gross stereotyping that is driving their misguided policy," says Evenson. Evenson recognizes there are race-based gangs in prison, "But not every Hispanic person is going to become a member of the gang."
The Prison Law Office wants Corrections to end race-based lockdowns. It wants prison officials to assess each inmate’s threat to prison security, no matter what race – and as soon as violence has cooled and the prison’s secure, lift restrictions for inmates who pose no threat to security. The Prison Law Office also wants Corrections to end lengthy lockdowns.
Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate says his department tracks prison lockdowns but has no plans to limit their frequency or length. He worries if he did that, someone could get hurt. "In many cases, we had wardens or a director struggle to figure out how do we get these men to not kill each other when they’re on that yard together."
But the union for prison guards in California worries that lengthy lockdowns increase threats to staff and inmates. Ryan Sherman with the California Correctional Peace Officers Association says inmates released from lockdown often lash out immediately.
"Usually with prolonged lockdowns," says Sherman, "you have increased frustration and anger built up amongst the inmate population. And it just triggers even more violence when they finally are released."
Sherman and the prison guards union say you can reduce lockdowns if you reduce violence in prisons. And they say the Department of Corrections can do that if it stops cramming inmates into prisons – and starts staffing prisons with more guards.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/04/27/lawsuit-says-california-prisons-resort-excessive-r/
When a riot breaks out in a California prison as they often do, the wardens “lock down” the inmates. That gives prison staff a chance to quell the violence, investigate the cause and isolate the inmates involved. The law gives prison officials a lot of discretion to use lockdowns to secure facilities - but there are limits. A prisoner advocacy group says California routinely violates those limits with frequent and lengthy race-based lockdowns. Today attorneys at the Prison Law Office sued CDCR in federal court to stop race-based lockdowns.
California State Prison, Sacramento houses inmates who need medical or psychiatric care. But New Folsom, as it’s known, also holds inmates that other prisons can’t handle.
One time when trouble erupted at New Folsom, the prison put a group of “Southern Hispanics” on lockdown – for seven years. Prison officials insist the lockdown was intermittent. They say they eventually let the inmates use a small yard to exercise.
But Prison Law Office attorney Rebekah Evenson doubts that. She says a review of a year’s worth of California prison records shows that during lockdowns, most wardens confine inmates to their cells 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"Two prisoners stuck in a cell built for the size of one person – many instances," says Evenson. "Two people can’t even stand up in the cell at the same time, they’re so small – 24 hours a day. No outside air. No recreation. No ability to do any exercise."
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that preventing a prisoner from outdoor exercise for more than six weeks is “cruel and unusual punishment.” The Prison Law Office says in the last fiscal year, 161 lockdowns lasted more than six weeks. Seven lasted more than a year. But Evenson says a lockdown is illegal from day one if race was the sole criteria for choosing which inmates are locked down.
Corrections officials say wardens do use race to decide who’s locked down – and for good reason. "The difficulty is in California, 'race-based' and 'gang-based' are basically the same," says Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate.
Cate says gangs generally control prisoners of the same race. Walk through any prison yard, says Cate, and ask Hispanic inmates if they belong to a race-based gang.
"They may say, 'No,'" says Cate. "But if you say, 'What if the Hispanic inmates were attacked by the white inmates, would you jump in?' They’d say, 'Yes, I have to. Otherwise I’m going to be the subject of violence if I don’t.' It’s easy maybe on paper and litigation filing to say, 'Well, see? That’s race-based.' But on those yards, those men don’t know the difference between race and gangs."
"Well, that is precisely the gross stereotyping that is driving their misguided policy," says Evenson. Evenson recognizes there are race-based gangs in prison, "But not every Hispanic person is going to become a member of the gang."
The Prison Law Office wants Corrections to end race-based lockdowns. It wants prison officials to assess each inmate’s threat to prison security, no matter what race – and as soon as violence has cooled and the prison’s secure, lift restrictions for inmates who pose no threat to security. The Prison Law Office also wants Corrections to end lengthy lockdowns.
Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate says his department tracks prison lockdowns but has no plans to limit their frequency or length. He worries if he did that, someone could get hurt. "In many cases, we had wardens or a director struggle to figure out how do we get these men to not kill each other when they’re on that yard together."
But the union for prison guards in California worries that lengthy lockdowns increase threats to staff and inmates. Ryan Sherman with the California Correctional Peace Officers Association says inmates released from lockdown often lash out immediately.
"Usually with prolonged lockdowns," says Sherman, "you have increased frustration and anger built up amongst the inmate population. And it just triggers even more violence when they finally are released."
Sherman and the prison guards union say you can reduce lockdowns if you reduce violence in prisons. And they say the Department of Corrections can do that if it stops cramming inmates into prisons – and starts staffing prisons with more guards.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/04/27/lawsuit-says-california-prisons-resort-excessive-r/
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