Prison bureau ordered protections to women after class action suit by women held at FCI Dublin

DUBLIN, Calif. - In an unprecedented decision, the Bureau of Prisons has reached an agreement in a class action lawsuit brought by women who were incarcerated at FCI Dublin in California.  

The consent decree filed in U.S. District Court on Friday states that the Bureau of Prisons will have to provide certain services and protections to women in the class-action group who are incarcerated at BOP for two years. The decree must still be approved by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. 

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.

A court 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 BOP putting incarcerated plaintiffs in a special housing unit called the SHU  — a form of detention akin to solitary confinement — for low-level disciplinary matters.

The BOP 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 a woman's access to early release or placement in a halfway house.

The agreement comes after lawyers for eight women filed suit against the BOP in 2023 and avoided a trial, which was scheduled for June 2025. The consent decree covers the roughly 500 women who were sent to 13 prisons across the country, but their lawyers hope that the BOP will make sure that all the incarcerated people in their care will benefit. 

"Class counsel and the community coalition behind this litigation feel that the proposed Consent Decree is an unprecedented victory of accountability and oversight over the Bureau of Prisons," Susan Beaty, an attorney for the women behind the lawsuit, said in a statement.

"We also know that our work is not over -- we are committed to continuing to support Dublin survivors across the country, and we will work tirelessly to ensure that the Consent Decree is enforced and that BOP is held accountable," Beaty added. 

The consent decree comes the day after the prison bureau confirmed that FCI Dublin will remain closed permanently after widespread reports of sexual abuse, as well as extensive reporting from KTVU.

The facility abruptly shut down in April, when its incarcerated population was moved to alternate facilities, or released.

In a statement, the BOP acknowledged entering the consent decree to "resolve all injunctive claims" of the class-action lawsuit but added that permanently shutting down FCI had nothing to do with the agreement.

The BOP said the agency completed a security and infrastructure assessment of the prison and felt that it would cost too much money to fix, along with the high cost of the Bay Area leading to low staffing levels. 

Wendy Still, a former correctional official, was selected as the Special Master to oversee FCI Dublin by the court. Still reported that inmates transferred to other BOP facilities were reporting continued staff abuse and retaliation, according to court documents released Friday. 

Both the BOP and the women's lawyers want Still to be the court-appointed monitor over the consent decree. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.