Solitary Confinement in California, a State of Unrest

Listening to the television and reading the newspapers about prisoners protesting solitary confinement conditions inside California prisons was most unusual to understand. Prisoners, most of them in segregation or isolation units were taking drastic methods of protesting these conditions identified as being harsh and torturous in nature. I first fell into disbelieve and rolled my eyes in a most mockingly fashion. Prisoners protesting living conditions inside prisons would only result with their words falling on deaf ears and blind eyes thus bypassing or disregarding this foolishness as usual. Almost, certain that history would look at this event as ridiculous event in nature. Then all of a sudden, the media joined by national and international advocacy groups escalates the information regarding the Pelican Bay hunger strike as more than four thousand other prisoners began to join their cause. It was becoming more obvious that something bad was happening as the prison system went into a state of emergency to deal with this mayhem designed and orchestrated to disrupt the entire prison system. Segregation prisoners attempting to commit a coup of the California Corrections Department was a most unusual feat to accomplish. Certainly, the citizenry of this state knew that they would lose face if they were to give in to all demands made by felonious criminals labeled as the “worst of the worst” inside special security housing units (SHU). All attempts by the strikers to negotiate or convince the agency to change its policies or practices inside isolation units was certainly a moot point as these prisoners deserved nothing extra for being criminals and gang members inside their prisons. Their starvation rebellion was scoffed at as there was almost a zero chance of getting the agency to change their policies inside these most restrictive housing units.

The hunger strike, filled with moments of emotions and desperations concluded with a vague promise by the agency to look at their policies and procedures inside their prisons. Fast forwarding from the last hunger strike that was conducted back in July, there appears to be a break through where actual conversations were taking place to resolve this matter of reviewing the five core demands of the strikers. Stunned, the public was shocked at the swiftness the agency acted to give into these strikers. It was with most certainty that the union for correctional officers advocated stronger and stricter living conditions to “teach them a lesson” as the majority of prisoners were behaving in united fashion and speaking with one voice to be heard. Briefly, the five core demands of the prisoners are: 1. Eliminate group punishments. Instead, practice individual accountability. When an individual prisoner breaks a rule, the prison often punishes a whole group of prisoners of the same race. This policy has been applied to keep prisoners in the SHU indefinitely and to make conditions increasingly harsh. 2. Abolish the debriefing policy and modify active/inactive gang status criteria. Prisoners are accused of being active or inactive participants of prison gangs using false or highly dubious evidence, and are then sent to long-term isolation (SHU). They can escape these tortuous conditions only if they "debrief," that is, provide information on gang activity. Debriefing produces false information (wrongly landing other prisoners in SHU, in an endless cycle) and can endanger the lives of debriefing prisoners and their families. 3. Comply with the recommendations of the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in Prisons (2006) regarding an end to long-term solitary confinement. This bipartisan commission specifically recommended to "make segregation a last resort" and "end conditions of isolation." Yet as of May 18, 2011, California kept 3,259 prisoners in SHUs and hundreds more in Administrative Segregation waiting for a SHU cell to open up. Some prisoners have been kept in isolation for more than thirty years. 4. Provide adequate food. Prisoners report unsanitary conditions and small quantities of food that do not conform to prison regulations. There is no accountability or independent quality control of meals. 5. Expand and provide constructive programs and privileges for indefinite SHU inmates. The hunger strikers are pressing for opportunities “to engage in self-help treatment, education, religious and other productive activities..." Currently these opportunities are routinely denied, even if the prisoners want to pay for correspondence courses themselves. Examples of privileges the prisoners want are: one phone call per week, and permission to have sweatsuits and watch caps. (Often warm clothing is denied, though the cells and exercise cage can be bitterly cold.) All of the privileges mentioned in the demands are already allowed at other SuperMax prisons (in the federal prison system and other states).(1)

Nobody ever expected the rapid spreading of this epidemic of strikers in one way or another last July. It caught the agency complete off guard and created quite a stir within the agency itself. Declaring a state of emergency and gathering their regiment of medical and tactical responders to the units affected this cost that taxpayers a hefty sum of overtime funding. Daunting a similarity of strikes of the past, this hunger strike was well organized and well planned by those incarcerated and having impaired communication methods to say the least. While their intent was to have the agency meet their five core demands, the outcome may have been much different than anticipated. Making a public statement to the effect that the agency had the intent to consider these demands and review their internal policies within the next few months the first strike was over within three weeks of the day it started. Then disappointment and frustration set in as the agency dragged its feet on conditions agreed upon and a second strike commenced with the same five core demands as listed before.

Lasting shorter than the first, the agency came to the rescue by making a written statement that satisfied the strikers in Pelican Bay but not in other segregation units who are determined to continue striking until their voices were heard as well. “The hunger strike succeeded so far in: moving CDCR to begin an immediate review of their gang validation and use of solitary confinement in the Security Housing Units (SHUs); bringing the issue of torturous SHUs (supermax/control units) to public attention and to mainstream media; and mobilizing broad support throughout California, nationally, and internationally for their reasonable demands”(1)
The reality of the striker’s effectiveness is barely coming to a realistic conclusion as those who are listed by society as public enemy number one seemed to have gained the sympathy and support of thousands around the country including Amnesty International, a very large advocate group. What is clear today is that strikers were successful in getting the attention required to legitimize their complaints and get someone to listen to them once and for all. In the end it was also clear that all parties agreed that something needs to be done.

Source:

(1) http://www.prisons.org/hungerstrike.htm

Occupational Hazards, Correctional Officers

Reading the numerous comments by readers posting on stories regarding jail, prison or criminal events makes me realize that the majority of people out there in our civilized world have no idea or concept of the job description that entails being a detention officer or a correctional officer. They really don't understand the scope of duties, tasks and the risks correctional officers engage in when working with potentially violent offenders whether pre-trial or convicted on felonies that often results in prison terms. In fact, it is reasonable to conclude that many have no idea of the challenges correctional officers and their families face while on the job or even at the end of their shifts. Basically speaking, they face challenges to their safety, their health and their wellness when working inside such a controlled environment or workplace.

Escorting or supervising prisoners can entail physical risks that range from being shot or shot at, slips, falls, serious or minor musculoskeletal injuries and exposure to sharp objects of instruments, puncture wounds from darts and spears aimed for the eyes or stab wounds resulting from prison made knives, to heat, cold stress as well as fire hazards and toxic fumes. Direct or indirect impacts on their health can be either biological or chemical exposures, communicable disease or infections and series of trauma stress that may cause loss of sleep and the rest cycle. Every day they risk sabotage or deliberate food or water contamination as most of the meals are prepared by private contractors supervising prison labor. Most of all, their mere presence inside one of these penitentiaries can aggravate their pre-existing health conditions that may have been inflicted at their birth, the growing years in school or sports, during their service in our armed forces, or subject to violence in the workplace.

Readers are readily willing to write comments such as "if you think the conditions are horrendous or it is unsafe...wait...wait for it.... then QUIT!!! Duh! Where do you think you are working? The Ritz Carlton?" The comment is self-explanatory but the train of thought is out of touch with reality. The bottom line is that correctional officer’s performance, duties and risks are either ignored, second guessed, degraded or often criticized for doing their jobs under circumstances many choose not be informed of, engaged in and never admit they don't care.
Public safety inside prisons by many citizens consists of an "out of sight, out of mind" approach that will never give the community an accurate reflection of prison and what kind of mistreatment public service employees endure on a daily basis that impacts their own personal lives. More now than ever before [with overcrowded jails and prisons] will a correctional employee admit to and take the time to realize that this role as a public servant has so many risks involved. Apteral, once it is all said and done, they all blend into one concern - coming home safely after the end of the shift and try to normalize their lives with their family and friends who support them through severe trials and tribulations that will never be understood unless you walked these tough beats inside the penitentiaries or jails.

A letter from Prisoner John Martinez, Pelican Bay Hunger Striker

Gang Debriefers used in Prison Management in RICO cases

The RICO case [a federal arrest and prosecution of organized crime laws etc.] is an important element of debriefing and has indeed helped break numerous cases that could not have been made or put together without the diligence of the STG group and other intelligence officers in law enforcement. How they get their jobs done is another factor we are discussing today in this current event called the Pelican Bay hunger strike. There are many methods of "torture" that may not be defined as torture by the courts or even a panel of correctional experts but because the process is sophisticated and documented [or not documented] according to established policies and procedures they are classified as mishaps or accidents and fall under repeated incidents of abuse or neglect or fear or intimidation including the use of force [reported and not reported]. Regardless, the impact of such elements can drive a person into a state of hostilities or a practice of compliance - it all depends on the will of the individual hence the creation of the SHU. However, the tactics used to gain such information is questionable to say the least and because it's not the main source of information gathered but yet an essential cornerstone of the investigation, the courts will never question the methods used to acquire such information or intelligence from the prisoner held or kept in isolation for the sake of "protection" and debriefing.

The process of interrogation is relentless and can create other side effects the AGENCY does not recognize in its housing of prisoners inside the SHU or SMU units. There is no positivity at the beginning of this process except solitary confinement, isolation from human contact and deprivation [SID] of any social or institutional benefits, privileges or incentives. Then as the process goes into different stages, small increments of "benefits" are delivered to the debriefer in forms of articles or personal property. The idea is to use behavioral modification methods to progressively reward the debriefer for more information with a reward.

On the other hand, if no progress or willingness to cooperate is noticed, the STG steps up the SID process. This includes the withholding of personal items allowed by policy but labeled as a "threat" to possess, suicide watches that are fake attempts to strip the body of any clothing making the prisoner feel vulnerable and exposed to be publicly humiliated in front of other prisoners , tampering with food deliveries with shortages of essential items in the meal, denial of medical or mental health treatment [no human contact], thermal environmental controls, removal of blankets and linen, no personal hygiene items or toilet paper, removal of legal papers and writing instruments e.g. pencils etc. and other methods that are designed to break the will or resistance.

These side effects become mental health issues and basically once left untreated, they dispose of their source of "information" and move on leaving the debriefing prisoner to handle severe matters in his life he has no control over. First, he is marked for death as a snitch thus he cannot ever go back to general population - Second he has been weakened both physically and psychologically due to conditions of confinement that are repetitively imposed on him- Third, he has lost the ability to cope and function as he did once before as his impairment renders him through mental anxiety knowing he is a target and that if the cell door ever opens up "accidently" he will be there exposed helpless and easy prey by others and subject to darting, spearing, thrown on with feces and urine and never knowing whether his food was tampered with or not - Fourth , he will have to spend the rest of his life in segregation involuntarily as recommended by the AGENCY and hope his family is safe. Fifth, he will be dead the moment he hits the streets. This is a consequence of debriefing and making a RICO case or any other gang related case stick when such introduction of information is used by law enforcement or prison management. Without going into details there are constitutional violations that would be challenged legally if exposed or revealed in a courtroom where the judge would have the ultimate power of persuasion.

There are other types of cases not elevated to the level of a RICO status that target debriefers to solve both current and cold cases involving homicides on the street, drug control and key drug dealers, human smuggling rings, grand auto theft and other gang related criminal cases that prosecutors receive high publicity for and loud praises that boost their careers to the top and eventual political satisfaction in holding an office they desire.

Summarizing this process inside our prisons, it must be concluded that this type of participation must be voluntary like it is in many states. It should focus on individuals identified through physical evidence and documented histories in having close known associations with their target group of criminals and individuals who have less than two years left to serve and eligible for out of state parole. Once he is done providing this debriefing data he has no protection from the law, the AGENCY or anyone else, for his existence is no longer needed and expendable and disposable - sounds like an American tradition? I hope not. Human being deserve better choices that to debrief to leave the SHU / SMU in a sensible and more humane manner. If the AGENCY is going to deliver testimony and information in such a manner, they should follow the same guidelines used by the DOJ Witness Program and make reasonable attempts to relocate the debriefer's family, acquire a new identity for the debriefer and allow time on parole to be served out of the state where he has a reasonable chance of staying alive.

Why undetected disabilities can be dangerous in a facility

Article was found on Corrections.One and written by Dr. L. Schoenly -

Inmates can have functional disability that makes them vulnerable to perdition and injury. Do you know the physical abilities and disabilities of the inmates under your responsibility? We all know that the average age of the inmate population is increasing and that this group’s biologic age is greater than chronologic. In fact, most departments of correction consider inmates age 50 or higher to be elderly.

It is not surprising then, that inmates can have functional disability that makes them vulnerable to perdition and injury. A recent study in the California Department of Correctional and Rehabilitation (CDRC) confirms that inmate disability is on the rise. This is a safety concern for security staff as well as the inmate population.

Officers need to be aware of the type and degree of disability of inmates they manage, yet the CDRC study found that almost a third of geriatric inmates were unknown to their assigned officer. Tuning in to the functional abilities of aging inmates can prevent dangerous situations from developing. A survey published by the American Correctional Association in 2008 found only 13 states had dedicated units and 9 states had dedicated prisons for older prisoners. That leaves many facilities managing older and potentially disabled inmates within the general inmate population.

Disability can include a wide array of physical and mental conditions that make an individual unable to cope independently. A disability can be as simple as difficulty walking, lack of balance, or forgetfulness. It can progress to confusion, agitation and incontinence. In the community setting common aging disabilities are managed by family and friend caregivers. Aging inmates do not have access to this support system. Corrections officers must often stand in the breach to identify and manage the situation.

Some disabilities can make life difficult such as needing assisting devices to walk. Others can be dangerous for both the inmate and the security staff. Hearing loss can cause an inmate to respond inappropriately to an officer command. Forgetfulness and confusion can lead to conflict with cellmates or in the housing unit. Older inmates may function adequately in normal incarceration activities but be unable to handle additional issues such as walking while being handcuffed.

A primary intervention when disability is noted is contact with the facility health unit. A full evaluation will indicate both treatment options and any need for reclassification or reassignment. A good relationship with the medical and mental health service unit staff can smooth operations and increase your safety and that of your team mates and inmate population.

You probably didn’t enter the corrections profession to deal with health care issues. That is totally understandable. Yet, from the prospective of custody, care and control, you should be ever alert to the functional abilities of the inmates you manage. Intervening when disability and decreased functionality is noted can be a life saver!


Dr. Schoenly has been a nurse for 25 years and is currently specializing in correctional healthcare. She is a clinical education specialist and author actively advocating for excellence in this practice setting. Her web-presence www.correctionalnurse.net provides a forum to interpret correctional healthcare to the public and healthcare community.

Officer Jayme Biendl.

Fact Sheet: L&I investigation, Department of Corrections workplace fatality
Background
The Department of Labor & Industries began its investigation of the Department of Corrections
Monroe Correctional Complex following the Jan. 29, 2011 on-the-job death of Officer Jayme Biendl. The officer was allegedly killed by an inmate at the prison.