STOP ABUSE AND PUNISHMENT OF WOMEN PRISONERS
NINE DEATHS SINCE NOVEMBER 8. The Central California Women's Facility has be-come a death house for women prisoners. Since November 8, nine women prisoners have died at the Central California Women's Facility (CCWF). At least four of the women were HIV+, and several were co-infected with hepatitis C. Two of the women died at Madera Community Hospital after long and serious illnesses. However, all women shared one thing in common: they were incarcerated at CCWF, the prison that is notorious for its substandard medical care. And it is very clear that each woman had her life shortened due to callous and inhumane treatment by correctional and medical staff.
The California Department of Corrections (CDC) has tried to blame the dead women for their deaths by suggesting that the women died from mixing their prescription drugs with illegal drugs. That lie has since been refuted by the CDC's own investigators who stated that several of the women would still be alive if they had received a more timely medical response by CDC itself.
CCWF was the recent subject of a class action lawsuit (Shumate v. Wilson) challenging medical neglect and abuse of chronically ill women. On October 11-12, 2000, state legislative hearings conducted by Senator Richard Polanco's Joint Committee on Prison Construction and Operations were held inside two women's prisons. The poor medical standard of care received by women prisoners at CCWF was criticized by many prisoners and outside advocates.
A coalition of advocacy groups is calling upon Senator Polanco to conduct an independent investigation into these deaths. We cannot allow the CDC to "investigate" itself and cover up this latest human tragedy. We are demanding that legislators step in and address this issue, but WE CAN'T LET THE CDC OFF THE HOOK either! Please send letters to the following to demand that women prisoners receive medical care, not repression and punishment:
Warden Gwendolyn Mitchell, Central California Women's Facility, P.O. Box 1501, Chowchilla, CA 93610, Phone: (559) 665-5531, Fax: (559) 665-7158
Director Steve Cambra, California Department of Corrections, P.O. Box 942883, Sacramento, CA 95283, Phone: (916) 445-7688, Fax: (916) 322-2877
--Ad-Hoc Committee to Save the Lives of Women Prisoners. We include the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, Justice Now, California Prison Focus, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, and Prison Activist Resource Center. For more information, please contact us at (415) 255-7036, ext. 4, or (510) 665-1935. HIV in Prison Committee of California Prison Focus, (510) 665-1935, <www.prisons.org>