Wardens At 2 California Women's Prisons Retire Amid Suicides, Abuse Allegations

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The wardens at California's two major women's prisons retired amid allegations of pervasive problems at both institutions, including sexual abuse of female inmates at one prison and persistent suicides at the other.

The complaints come amid wide problems for the corrections department. A series of lawsuits forced the state to lower its inmate population and cede control of prisoner health care to a federal receiver, while the California inspector general found a culture of racism and abuse at a men's prison.

Aside from sex abuse, guards at the state's largest women's prison permit fights between inmates, use unneeded force and derogatory names, and retaliate against inmates who complain, said Don Specter, director of the nonprofit Prison Law Office, which investigates inmate mistreatment.

Specter pushed for leadership changes after attorneys found systemic problems at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, which he called "a very troubled place."

"There are serious problems there, including verbal abuse of prisoners, failure to protect them from other prisoners, contraband, sexual abuse — mostly in the form of: 'If you do me a favor I'll do you a favor' — that kind of thing," he said. "There's a lot of fear, and fear of retaliation for reporting misconduct."

The attorneys, who represent inmates in several major lawsuits against the state, have been working with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in recent months, including conducting joint interviews in June with about 150 of the more than 2,800 inmates at the state's largest women's prison, he said.

Specter said the investigation "proved to everyone's satisfaction that there were serious problems" and the department appears to have been taking steps to make changes since then.

The department said Chowchilla Warden Deborah Johnson retired routinely last week after 30 years of state service. Kimberly Hughes also routinely retired as warden at the California Institution for Women, which houses nearly 1,900 inmates in Corona, after more than 27 years as a state employee, officials said.

"There is really no connection" to the problems reported by the Prison Law Office attorneys, spokeswoman Vicky Waters said Thursday.

The department said it could not arrange interviews with the retired wardens. Two other senior staff members at the Chowchilla prison also were being reassigned.

Waters and another spokeswoman could not immediately comment on the abuse allegations but said the department has been cooperating with the Prison Law Office.

Inmates at the Chowchilla prison allege that guards "will use their authority to coerce prisoners into sexual relationships," Specter said. "Some of the women allege that the officers bring in contraband, partly in return for sexual favors."

Some guards have let inmates from one housing unit into another to fight or steal property, he said.

"They ignore fights, they let them go on even though they know about them, they ignore pleas for protection," Specter said.

Guards use unnecessary physical force, and "there's a rampant culture of verbal abuse," that includes guards using demeaning names for women.

Employees threaten inmates to keep them from filing complaints and retaliate against those who report problems, he said.

Nichol Gomez, spokeswoman for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, said in an email that the union that represents most guards "does not comment on unsubstantiated rumors or allegations."

"But I can tell you the majority of California correctional peace officers are professional and take their duty and oath seriously," she wrote. Employees at both prisons "do their job the best they can within the conditions they face, which include lack of staff."

Specter praised the leadership change but said attorneys are waiting to see what else the department will do to change the prison's culture and practices. He equated problems there to a December finding by the state inspector general saying High Desert State men's prison had a culture of racism and abuse.

"Why weren't they able to catch things on their own before they became such a crisis?" he said.

Meanwhile, Democratic state Sen. Connie Leyva wants the state auditor to look into suicides at the California Institution for Women.

She is asking for an audit next week to see why the suicide rate was eight times the national average for female prisoners in an 18-month period in 2014-15, when The Associated Press first wrote about the spike.

"I think it is clear there are some systemic and pervasive problems," Leyva said.

There were four suicides and at least 35 attempts during that period, and two more suicides this year.

Leyva said the auditor should examine whether employees are properly trained and if inmates are getting proper mental health treatment.

Waters said the department has already increased mental health treatment and suicide prevention efforts.

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