(TargetLiberty.org) – U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will be appointing a special master to oversee the California federal women’s prison following the recent reports of sexual abuse.
The Obama appointee did not yet announce who exactly would take on the role but argued that the court was going to be appointing someone to oversee the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin. On Friday she released an order in which she argued that it was necessary for change to come to the institution and that they would no longer tolerate this situation. She also slammed the Bureau of Prisons for not having paid more attention to the constitutional rights of inmates.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has refused to make any comments as the case is still pending.
In mid-August eight inmates filed a lawsuit with the support of the advocacy group California Coalition for Women Prisoners arguing that the abuse had continued even though many former officers had ended up being prosecuted.
Rights Behind Bars attorney Amaris Montes had argued at the time that prosecution was not going to provide a solution to the FCI Dublin crisis, further noting that this was not an instance of a “few bad apples.” Montes had argued that systemic change was necessary in order to make sure that survivors were going to have the safety and care necessary.
The lawsuit came after a previous 2022 investigation from The AP into the prison which showcased the abuse culture, as officers and the warden had abused inmates. The inmates then had to face retaliation if they had spoken up about the abuse.
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