The US Bureau of Prisons (BoP) has agreed to pay $155m to more than 100 survivors of a major sexual abuse case, a historic settlement of a class-action lawsuit that largely exposed the brutality of federal prison officials.
It resulted in the settlement of 103 claims of sexual abuse and retaliation for reporting guilt by people in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin, a disturbed women’s institution located in California. Staff harassment and assault by guards at FCI Dublin, on the east side of Oakland, has become widespread and widely documented, and the facility is known internally as “rap club“.
Victims who came forward to report abuse have fought for years for protection and accountability. Seven former Dublin employees, including the guards who ran the prison and the chaplain, have been criminally convicted of sex crimes, and more than 20 other employees have been placed on leave and under investigation. The Bureau was informed permanent farmer earlier this month in Dublin and former inmates were transferred to other federal prisons across the country.
The settlement appears to be the largest single payout in BoP history, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs. A major victory is the consensus of advocates fighting guilt in women’s prisons, who have documented how sexual abuse is a systemic problem in the US prison system. Staff sexually abused incarcerated inmates at least twice as many as women in federal prisons over the past decade, with some women being abused for months and years, a 2022 US Senate investigation found.
The composition of the settlement class also includes a proposed consent decree, driven by the BoP, for current and former incarcerated survivors. California CONGREGATION FOR PRIVATE WOMEN, an advocacy group. The agreement covers almost 500 members of the order who are currently incarcerated in other prisons in Dublin.
The consensus established that the bureau should be subject to ongoing monitoring outside of regular public relations for continued abuse and retaliation; giving class members access to community-based counselors; limit the use of solitary confinement; and release selected applicants to home detention and community programs “as soon as possible.”
Survivors of the Dublin scandal have reported continuing concerns about retaliation in other prisons and said they have struggled to access trauma services while still living in the Bureau’s prison system. Some lawyers say The victims were targeted because they were not US citizens and this they do in perpetual danger of deportation. Incarcerated survivors are fighting for compassionate release, clemency, and immigration relief from Joe Biden.
Aimee Chavira, formerly incarcerated in Dublin and spoke out about the abuse she suffered, has since been released and is part of the settlement.
“We were sentenced to prison, we were not accused and abused,” Chavira said on Tuesday. “I hope this settlement will help survivors, like me, as they begin to heal — but the money will not repair the damage that the BoP has done to us, or bring back the children of survivors who suffered in prison or the survivors who were deported and separated. about their families. But the prison officer’s money will not stop without continuing the abuse of the imprisoned people.
Susan Beaty, senior attorney at the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, and counsel on the class action, added: “We hope that this money will provide survivors with some stability and resources to heal and rebuild their lives. I’m sure there is no amount of money that will heal the wounds of people at Dublin can heal the suffering.”
Randilee Giamusso, a spokesperson for the BoP, said in an email that a “third-party neutral process” was used to allocate funds between actors.
“the” [BoP] in FCI Dublin, appropriately addressing the consequences of sexually abusive behaviour. The [BoP] remains committed to rooting out unjust behavior and holding accountable those who violate the oath of office,” he said.