DUBLIN, Calif. (KGO) — After years of allegations of poor treatment and sexual abuse at a federal prison in Dublin, a landmark legal settlement is poised to help protect its former inmates and bring widespread change to the prison system.
“One of the things we wanted to do was to be heard and, like you said, we didn’t give up,” said Griselda Muniz, one of the 500 named plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit filed last year by a nonprofit against the Bureau of Prisons and FCI Dublin.
The now-shuttered prison has been under scrutiny. At least eight former FCI Dublin employees have been charged with abusing inmates, five of them pleading guilty, and two of them–including the warden–were convicted at trial.
“We definitely raised our voices, even higher with attorneys behind us and organizations knowing that somebody did want to hear us and did want to help us,” Muniz said.
On Friday afternoon, the plaintiff’s attorneys announced a settlement after several failed attempts by the bureau to have the case thrown out.
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“We are really excited about this historic consent decree that was issued between our class members and the BOP,” said Amaris Montes, director of West Coast Litigation and Advocacy. “It is the first of its kind to have some sort of monitoring across over a dozen BOP facilities.”
As part of the settlement, the Bureau of Prisons will be required–for two years–to oversee the treatment of the women transferred from FCI Dublin to prisons across the country.
“We will vigorously make sure that this consent decree is followed, and we’re excited to continue and build upon what we’ve built so far,” Montes said.
“Today is a day of accountability,” said former Bay Area Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who was one of the first lawmakers to visit the prison amid the abuse allegations.
“It was a horrible culture. They knew where the cameras were not located. So, that’s where they engaged in the various rapes. I mean, literally, the chaplain was raping these inmates in his area because there were no cameras in there.”
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The settlement also requires the Bureau of Prisons to release eligible plaintiffs to home confinement and halfway houses as soon as possible. The Bureau must also expunge disciplinary reports by Dublin staff intended to silence the women, reports that could otherwise prevent early release.
But former inmates say the fight isn’t over. They want their voices heard by President Joe Biden.
The Bureau of Prisons confirmed the details of the settlement in a statement Friday. It also addressed Thursday’s announcement that the now-empty Dublin facility would be permanently closing, writing: “While that settlement was filed with the district court today, the decision to permanently close the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin is not a result of the agreement.”
The Bureau cites failing infrastructure and inability to staff the prison as reasons for the closure.
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