'Shocking' constitutional discipline violations at now-closed FCI Dublin: judge
FCI Dublin
DUBLIN, Calif. - A federal judge has extended the role of the special master over the now-closed FCI Dublin women's prison, saying that a review of the Bureau of Prisons' disciplinary actions against the incarcerated women showed a "shocking" error rate of nearly half.
U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued an order on Friday, mandating that Special Master Wendy Still retain oversight over the shuttered prison through at least Dec. 31 – even though there have been no women incarcerated there since May 1.
That's because an audit showed "ongoing constitutional violations" tied to FCI Dublin's disciplinary records, where out of 824 infractions the incarcerated women were said to have violated, 373 were "expunged for due process or other deficiencies," the judge wrote.
In other words, 45% of the disciplinary infractions reviewed were thrown out "due to BOP's own errors."
Gonzalez Rogers said she found this error rate "shocking," adding that it also has a domino effect on women's freedom.
Powerless in Prison: The fallout of FCI Dublin
In April, the Bureau of Prisons abruptly shut down the troubled FCI Dublin. KTVU interviews dozens of women and explains what led up to the closure, questioning whether this was retaliation for outside oversight over the prison, which has been riddled with sex abuse for decades.
The BOP Western Regional Hearing Administrator found more than 100 instances where women should have been released from prison earlier, but had been denied because of these erroneous disciplinary calculations, the judge wrote.
The judge did note that there have been some improvements in other areas.
As of late September, there are only six medical alerts and nine mental health alerts that haven't been cleared, down from nearly 200 cases in August – clearances the women's attorneys don't think are accurate.
After FCI Dublin was closed, the roughly 600 women who were incarcerated there were taken to prisons across the country.
Many continue to complain through letters to KTVU that their treatment isn't much better at their new facilities.
In an interview on Monday, attorney Kara Janssen, who is representing the women in a class-action suit against the BOP, said she and her colleagues are still working to remedy the injustices by visiting the various prisons.
Some of those include hearing from women who allege that they have still not gotten medical attention despite their alerts being cleared, or they are retaliated against for raising issues such as talking to their attorneys, Janssen said.
Janssen and her colleague, Susan Beaty, are visiting FCI Waseca in Minnesota this week and plan to visit FCI Aliceville in Alabama at the end of the month. Beaty has already visited SeaTac in Seattle.
"A lot of women have been feeling demoralized. They haven't seen us," Janssen said. "But the special master is getting your messages and we are still here."
The lawyers are visiting the Waseca prison, where there is a known drug issue – a fact the BOP confirmed as well.
Janssen said that often, where there is drug use, there is often sexual abuse.
Incarcerated women at FCI Waseca have told KTVU that they have been in long lockdowns because of the drugs.
The BOP closed FCI Dublin in the wake of a sex abuse scandal perpetrated by correctional officers.
In response to the criminal trials of seven officers, as well as a civil lawsuit against the BOP, the agency countered that despite spending resources on changing the culture and situation at FCI Dublin, they had no choice but to close down the prison.
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at [email protected] or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez