The closure of the Dublin Federal Prison for Women, intended to address problems of abuse and dysfunction, has instead resulted in additional suffering for its inmates due to the chaotic and rushed transfer of 600 inmates to prisons as far away as Minnesota and Miami.
Prisoners faced grueling cross-country bus trips and flights, some without crucial medical prescriptions or sanitary products, and with little information about their destinations. Inmate Vaudencia Hamilton, speaking from a Miami prison after a three-day journey, recounted, “We were all bruised up on our wrists because of the fact that they put the handcuffs on so tight and so long.” She went without her diabetes medication throughout the trip, causing her to feel “dizzy and sick and nauseated.”
The closure of the Dublin facility stems from a “rape club” culture that resulted in the charging of eight jail officers, six of whom were convicted of sexually abusing inmates. The prison was also plagued by mold and asbestos, leading one judge to describe it as a “dysfunctional mess.” However, as Hamilton notes, “the men went to prison and we got the punishment.”
Multiple inmates, primarily incarcerated for drug offenses, and their families contacted the Bay Area News Group to share the chaos and anxiety they experienced during the frantic transfers. Confusion reigned during the initial days, with some inmates left stranded for hours on buses in the Dublin prison parking lot before being returned to their cells without explanation, with only frozen sandwiches as their sustenance. Toilet paper ran out on the buses, adding to the discomfort. Inmate Sara Victoria expressed her distress: “People were crying. I had anxiety the whole time. We just didn’t know where we were going and what we were doing.”
Inmate Maria Morales Rodriguez witnessed the toll the transfers took: “I have witnessed people fighting. I have witnessed people crying. I have witnessed people drinking pills because they just want to pass out and not think about it. I have witnessed people vomiting. Another lady over here next to me, she was cutting herself. We have witnessed all of that. And even officers over here are crying because that’s how crazy it is.”
Those with children in the Bay Area fear losing contact with their loved ones, while those nearing release to halfway houses worry about the disruption. The forced separation from the prison community also weighs heavily on the inmates. Inmate Margarita Rosales said, “I understand they’re closing down the prison. I understand that we’re criminals. I can totally understand that. But we’re still human beings.”
Benjamin O’Cone, a spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Prisons, declined to comment on the inmates’ concerns or the shutdown’s status, instead reiterating a statement from Bureau of Prisons Director Collette Peters citing the prison’s inability to meet expected standards despite efforts to address misconduct and infrastructure issues. The prison has housed notable inmates, including Heidi Fleiss, Patty Hearst, Sara Jane Moore, and Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.
The California Coalition for Women Prisoners filed an emergency temporary restraining order to halt the transfers, but most inmates had already been moved out by the time the motion was filed. The number of remaining inmates is unclear as of Tuesday.
Over 60 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault have been filed by prisoners during the scandal. The hasty removal of 600 inmates within a week, according to the motion, has “wrought chaos” on an already vulnerable population, increasing the risk of “imminent and serious medical injury, including lack of treatment for serious medical ailments, psychological distress and risk of suicide.”
Officials stated they would try to keep inmates “as close to their release locations as possible” as part of prison policy. However, Thuy Nguyen of San Jose reports that her sister, inmate Trang Nguyen, was sent 3,000 miles away from her three young children in the Bay Area. Nguyen’s sister had regular visits and playtime with her kids at the prison playground. Her youngest son, raised by his father since he was six months old, had just begun to bond with her. Nguyen expressed her concern, saying, “He found a bond and was comfortable with her. And then now all of a sudden it’s not happening.”
Nguyen stated that her sister was transported from Dublin to Nevada by bus, then flown with approximately 60 other prisoners to Georgia, and then traveled by bus with half of them for another 12 hours to Miami. “Her hands were tied. Her legs were tied,” Nguyen said of her sister. “Imagine sitting like that for about three days.”
