Women
April 23, 2012
California women’s prisons trying to save programs
Joanna Huerta and Rosie Gonzales stood shoulder to shoulder, dressed in matching orange jumpsuits and giggling as they peeped out through the clear plastic window in their cell door to joke with an inmate across the hall.
Ten years ago, Huerta and Gonzales would have been sharing their room with at least six other women. Today, however, the cells in housing unit 501 at Central California Women's Facility are only half-full - and with the new room has come new freedom...
LINK - SFGate.com
March 2, 2012
State prison “realignment” falls short with plans for female ex-convicts
When Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law last year drastically changing the rules for oversight of low-level felons upon their release from prison, plans for handling the influx of female parolees fell between the cracks, say many experts.
"I've been screaming for a year, 'What are we going to do with the women?' " said Edwina Perez-Santiago, who on Thursday opened one of the few services in the state for assisting "AB 109 women." Her chief focus for the project, based in Richmond, is finding housing, a challenge heightened by laws barring felons from renting low-cost federal housing...
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
December 29, 2011
More California women inmates serving time at home
California’s prison population has dropped by more than 8,000 inmates since October, when the state began shifting low-level criminals from state prisons to county jails. The state's prisons are under a federal court order to cut the inmate population by another 25,000 inmates by mid-2013. One way to do it is to assign more female inmates to do their time outside of prison.
Jessica Carrillo says she hopes to get out a month early from Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla. The 19-year-old from Merced County got sent to state prison for 10 months after she violated parole on a juvenile offense of grand theft auto. Carrillo is confident that she meets the criteria for alternative custody. Her crime wasn’t a serious, violent or sexual offense and she’s the breadwinner for her family - or will be. Carrillo is eight months pregnant...
LINK - SCPR.org
February 24, 2010
Women Call Private Prison Guards Predators
Two former inmates of a Corrections Corporation of America prison say CCA employees preyed on them sexually and banished them to solitary lockdown when they complained. One woman claims a CCA guard paid her "sugar daddy" on the outside, then demanded, and received, sex in prison.
Jessica Rubio and Serbennia Chase filed separate, $20 million federal lawsuits against the private prison contractor, alleging civil rights violations at the company's Correctional Treatment Facility (CTF) at the District of Columbia Jail.
Rubio, who was arrested and sentenced in 2008 for sexual solicitation, says CTF employee "Sgt. Powell" paid her for sex four times when he should have been helping her "turn her life around..."
LINK - CourtHouseNews.com
February 4, 2010
Federal Corrections Reports
Find and read reports regarding Federal Corrections; ranging in subject from Capitol Punishment, to Family, Leadership, to Technology and much more...
August 31, 2008
The pink mile: women on death row
Not everyone can handle it. For those who work in a prison, there are two lives: inside and outside. Once they put the uniform on and go through the gate, they are in an alternate universe. Here they must be able to navigate a psychological and emotional labyrinth, inure themselves to being suckered, and sublimate instincts to react. Mental stamina is as crucial as physical strength.
We know very little about what the job is like: the pressures, the cycle of emotions, what they experience on the inside and the impact it has on the outside. SCI Muncy in Pennsylvania is the only correctional facility in the US with a "death row" for women that agreed to allow me inside. Correctional facilities and officers have nothing to gain from opening up. One of the most salient features of the job is anonymity. Officers make sure the inmates know as little about their personal lives as possible. They need to remain unknown. It's safer for them and for their families.
The perception of corrections officers as callous and hard-nosed is bolstered by the Hollywood myth of the sadistic guard and the constant atmosphere of repressed violence. Yet it becomes apparent that mental strength is not the only facet women officers require. Compassion, too, is very much on display. There is understanding, a recognition that the female inmates they work with have made mistakes and bad choices…
LINK - TimesOnline.co.uk
June 13, 2008
Santee officials say report on larger jail is flawed
City officials yesterday accused the county of failing to thoroughly analyze and mitigate the effects of a larger Las Colinas jail in a draft environmental report released in April.
That report should be significantly revised and re-released to the public, Santee officials said in a letter to the county. "There's a lot more work to be done," Santee City Manager Keith Till said.
Santee residents and officials have been staunchly opposed to a county proposal to replace the 810-bed jail in the center of the city with a bigger jail. Las Colinas, a worn-down, 1960s-era facility, has been on the county's list for replacement for years. It is the only all-female jail in the county…
LINK - SignonSanDiego.com (San Diego Union-Tribune)
January 30, 2008
Immigrant Holding Center to Add 250 Women
The detention center has faced heavy criticism by protesters for what they call the wrongful imprisonment of children. It has also caused liability concerns for the county, after a guard was fired after he was accused of sexually assaulting a female detainee in May. Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the incident but said they found no criminal activity and closed the investigation in June. County commissioners debated whether to keep their contract with the federal government and Corrections Corp. of America, the private company that owns and operates the facility. The contract expires Jan. 31, 2009…
LINK - Chron.com
