Judge OKs prison abuse settlement, rejecting Trump administration’s push to rewrite protections

A judge on Tuesday gave final approval to a legal settlement that subjects the federal Bureau of Prisons to independent monitoring and increased transparency in the wake of rampant staff-on-inmate sexual abuse at a now-shuttered federal women’s prison in California.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland signed off on the agreement after rejecting the Trump administration’s last-minute request to alter protections for transgender and non-citizen inmates.

The consent decree calls for a court-appointed monitor to keep tabs on the treatment of about 500 former inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, who are now incarcerated at more than a dozen other federal lockups across the U.S.

It also includes pathways to early release and home confinement, and requires the Bureau of Prisons to “issue a formal, public acknowledgement to victims of staff sexual abuse at FCI Dublin.” Some women who alleged abuse at Dublin say they have since been the victims of similar misconduct at other federal prisons.

“Without the consent decree and the oversight that it calls for, there’s no safety or protection for our class members,” former Dublin inmate Kendra Drysdale said.

FCI Dublin, about 21 miles (34 kilometers) east of Oakland, has been sitting idle since the Bureau of Prisons cleared out inmates last April and announced its permanent closure last December. It is now being looked at for use as a possible immigration detention facility.

The judge rejected the Bureau of Prisons’ request to renegotiate the agreement — which had been on the table since December — to remove provisions pertaining to transgender and non-citizen inmates. Government lawyer Madison Mattioli argued they were “inconsistent with the new administration’s priorities.”

Under the consent decree, the Bureau of Prisons must allow covered inmates to retain gender-affirming clothing and accommodations and must not deny early release solely on the basis of immigration status or a detainer.

“You don’t get two bites at the apple,” Gonzalez Rogers said at a hearing held by Zoom and attended by several ex-FCI Dublin inmates. “There is always an opportunity to want more after a negotiated settlement. And that’s why we get in writing and that’s why we get it signed, so that you cannot go back.”

The consent decree will run for at least two years. It is set to go into effect March 31.

Gonzalez Rogers agreed to the delay so the Bureau of Prisons can fill key several vacancies, including replacing an administrator who retired this month after serving as a liaison to the monitor, Wendy Still. A preliminary injunction that provides incarcerated women with some protections runs through March, the judge said.

An AP investigation found a culture of abuse and cover-ups that had persisted for years at FCI Dublin, which became known among staff and inmates as the “rape club.”

Since 2021, at least eight employees have been charged with sexually abusing inmates. Five have pleaded guilty. Two were convicted at trial, including former warden Ray Garcia. Another case is set to go to trial next month.

Lawyers for ex-Dublin inmates and the Bureau of Prisons filed a proposed consent decree in December, at the end of the Biden administration, after months of negotiations to settle a class-action lawsuit that sought to change the agency’s treatment of women and abuse claims.

Separately, the government agreed in December to pay nearly $116 million to resolve lawsuits brought by more than 100 women who say they were abused or mistreated by FCI Dublin staff. The women will receive an average of about $1.1 million.

Under the proposed agreement, plaintiffs will have ongoing and confidential access to the court-appointed monitor, lawyers and community-based counselors to report abuse and possible consent decree violations.

The monitor will have access to the women, staff and records and will issue monthly reports to the public on key findings on a range of issues, including staff abuse and retaliation against inmates, medical care and compliance with early release rules.

The proposed agreement also includes protections against retaliation, including a ban on the Bureau of Prisons putting incarcerated plaintiffs in a special housing unit — a form of detention akin to solitary confinement — for low-level disciplinary matters.

The agency will also be required to review and expunge invalid disciplinary reports by FCI Dublin staff that, in some instances, may have been issued to punish or keep inmates quiet. If allowed to stand, those disciplinary reports could hamper an inmate’s access to early release or placement in a halfway house.

Under the proposed agreement, the agency must release eligible plaintiffs to halfway houses and home confinement as soon as possible. The agency will also be required to restore early release credits that inmates may have lost when they were transferred from FCI Dublin.

Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press

This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.