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Powerless in Prison: The fallout of FCI Dublin
In April, the Bureau of Prisons abruptly shut down the troubled FCI Dublin. KTVU interviews dozens of women and explains what led up to the closure, questioning whether this was retaliation for outside oversight over the prison, which has been riddled with sex abuse for decades.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Two Bay Area lawyers have been trying to visit the 600 women who are now in federal prisons across the country after the Federal Correctional Institute at Dublin shut down this spring.
"And we were pretty horrified by what we heard and saw," said Susan Beaty, one of the lawyers who filed a class action lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons in the wake of the sex scandal at the now-shuttered women's prison in Dublin.
Beaty was specifically speaking about her visit, along with co-counsel Kara Janssen, to FCI Aliceville, a low-security prison with about 1,500 incarcerated women in Pickens County, Alabama, last month.
"It reaffirmed for us that many of the really serious abuses that happened at Dublin were not just because of something specific to Dublin or because of bad actors at Dublin, but due to deep systemic issues in the Bureau of Prisons," Beaty said.
She said that after speaking to 60 women in Alabama, dozens of women told her and Janssen that they continue to face retaliation by FCI Aliceville staff for having come from Dublin and for speaking out against the staff misconduct there – including seven officers being convicted of sex crimes; an eighth is headed to trial – which ultimately led to the abrupt closure of FCI Dublin in April.
"We talked to multiple women who allege that they were raped and sexually assaulted by Aliceville guards in the last one to two years, and in at least one case the guard was allowed to continue working at the prison for months after sexual assault allegations were made," Beaty said. "It honestly felt like being at Dublin, you know, prior to the implosion."
The Bureau of Prisons refused to say how many employees are on leave or under investigation.
However, at least two officers have been sentenced for sex crimes in the last five years, according to the Department of Justice. Eric Todd Ellis was sentenced to 18 months in prison for having sex in the laundry room with an incarcerated woman in 2020 and Robert Smith was sentenced to 24 months in prison for engaging in sex acts with an incarcerated woman in 2019, and another woman in 2018.
In a lengthy statement to KTVU this week, BOP spokesman Benjamin O'Cone did say that the Bureau of Prisons "strongly condemns all forms of sexually abusive behavior and takes seriously our duty to protect the individuals entrusted in our custody. Actions threatening the safety and integrity of our institutions will not be tolerated. We are resolute in our mission to foster a humane and secure environment, protecting both our employees and incarcerated individuals from any form of sexual harassment and assault."
O'Cone pointed out that earlier this year, the BOP, the Department of Justice - Office of Inspector General and other "law enforcement partners" conducted an "interagency operation designed to achieve our shared goal of maintaining a safe environment for both our employees and the incarcerated individuals housed at FCI Aliceville."
O'Cone said that this operation meant "gathering intelligence to better understand the current environment at FCI Aliceville."
He explained that this included "mass interviews" of the women, a "thorough review of existing investigations, and an evaluation of the intelligence gathered."
In addition, O'Cone said that the BOP conducted "comprehensive training to reinforce best practices and ensure they are fully equipped to handle any issues that arise."
But none of these words ring true for Beaty or Janssen, who have now visited FCI Dublin transfers at SeaTac in Seattle and FCI Waseca in Minnesota, where the women have told them stories about being put into isolation for relatively minor offenses and not receiving mental health services. Women in federal detention in Miami complain they have no access to direct sunlight.
"It was really disheartening for me and for my colleague," Beaty said. "You know, we've both spent a lot of time in a lot of prisons and talked to, at this point, dozens and dozens of people who've suffered sexual abuse by prison staff. And despite that, I think this was one of our hardest visits yet."
Beaty said that the "same patterns, the same playbooks" are playing out, where women who were abused come forward, they're not believed and then they are put in solitary confinement as retaliation, while the officers being accused keep working and then assaulting other women.
As for what can be done, Beaty said she and her legal team continue to write reports for Special Master Wendy Still, who has oversight over the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, at least until December, though her powers are limited because the complaints are now being lodged from prisons across the country and she is physically located in Alameda County.
Beaty and Jannsen said they filed a report of their concerns about FCI Aliceville under seal to the U.S. District Court in Northern California.
Beaty also said that the lawyers are trying to connect their clients with resources and advocacy groups in Alabama and other cities where the women are incarcerated. And Beaty said that she hopes that members of Congress hold the BOP accountable for how they are treating people in their custody.
"You know, the same tools of punishment and silencing are being used by staff at Aliceville and other institutions that were used in Dublin," Beaty said. "What happened in Dublin was horrific. But I think it is important that we understand that Dublin was not an aberration, that Dublin was not a one-off, that these same patterns are happening in other facilities and in other prisons."
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez