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February 01, 2010
California WatchBlog Probe examines whether Chino inmates were locked in cages for days
California WatchBlog
Probe examines whether Chino inmates were locked in cages for days
January 12, 2010 | Michael Montgomery
The Office of the Inspector General is probing allegations that inmates at the California Institution for Men in Chino have been locked in outdoor, cage-like enclosures for extended periods, possibly days.
OIG investigators are assessing recent claims that inmates at the prison’s reception center were held in steel-and-wire pens and exposed to extreme conditions. “It’s not an investigation, but we are conducting a preliminary review,” said Laura Hill, special adviser to Inspector General David Shaw.
Last week we reported on testimony from Chino inmates who claimed they spent days locked in outdoor holding pens following a riot that destroyed two wings of the prison.
Now, reporter Steven Cuevas has added more meat to the allegations in a series airing this week on KPCC. According to Cuevas’s sources, prison staff were using the cages to hold inmates months before the riots because Chino had no place to house new arrivals.
The prison has been operating at more than 150 percent capacity. Cuevas writes: “One former inmate claims he spent a week in an outdoor cage with about 10 other prisoners last March. At night, they slept on the floor of an indoor holding tank with no bunks or running water. The cages and holding tanks aren’t meant to house inmates for more than a few hours.”
Terry Thornton, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said holding tanks were used to house Chino inmates only to help secure the prison after the riot, but no prisoner was denied food, water or medical attention. “It’s simply not true,” Thornton said.
http://www.californiawatch.org/watchblog/probe-examines-whether-chino-inmates-were-locked-cages-days
Posted by lois at February 1, 2010 08:06 PM