- Nearly all inmates from the troubled women’s prison in California have been transferred out as it is set to be closed down.
- The closure plan prompted U.S. senators to demand explanations due to reports of chaotic transfers and mistreatment during transport.
- The Bureau of Prisons claimed to address inmates’ needs with compassion but faced criticism over the handling of the closure.
Nearly all inmates have been transferred out of a troubled women’s prison set to be shut down in California, and U.S. senators on Wednesday demanded an accounting of the rapid closure plan for the facility where sexual abuse by guards was rampant.
As of Tuesday only “a small group” of women were still being held at FCI Dublin, with the majority of its 605 inmates having been sent this week to other federal facilities, said Donald Murphy, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons, or BOP. The unspecified number who remained at the minimum security prison near Oakland were pending release or transfer to halfway houses, he said.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the BOP expressing concern over claims of a chaotic transfer process during which inmates on buses and planes didn’t receive proper medical care and were reportedly subjected to “mistreatment, harassment, neglect, and abuse while in transit.”
BUREAU OF PRISONS TO CLOSE CALIFORNIA WOMEN’S PRISON WHERE INMATES HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO SEX ABUSE
Susan Beaty, a lawyer for inmates who blew the whistle on the conditions at the prison, said there were reports that during transport guards made abusive comments to the women, “labeling them as snitches, referring to the closure of Dublin.” In addition, the inmates were shackled at their wrists and ankles for the entirety of their long journeys, despite their minimum-security classification, and in some cases were denied water and trips to the bathroom, Beaty said.
The Federal Correctional Institution is seen in Dublin, California, on April 15, 2024. Nearly all inmates have been transferred out of the troubled women’s prison set to be shut down in California, and U.S. senators on Wednesday, April 24, demanded an accounting of the rapid closure plan for the facility where sexual abuse by guards was rampant. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File)
The BOP didn’t immediately respond to the senators’ letter, but Murphy said the bureau was addressing all the inmates’ needs with “compassion and respect” during the transfer process.
“The process involved careful planning and coordination to ensure the safe transfer of women to other facilities, with special attention given to their unique programming, medical, and mental health requirements,” he wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “We remain committed to helping each individual adjust to their new environment with the necessary care and support.”
A 2021 Associated Press investigation exposed a “rape club” culture at the prison where a pattern of abuse and mismanagement went back decades.