Tag Archives: sex abuse

Making Them Pay – Update for December 19, 2024

We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BOP TO PAY 115 MEGABUCKS TO 103 FCI DUBLIN VICTIMS

Misny241218The Federal Bureau of Prisons continues to try to bring the horrific saga of the FCI Dublin “Rape Club” to an end by agreeing to settle dozens of lawsuits brought by women prisoners who were victimized by sexual abuse – including rape – by BOP staff at the now-permanently closed women’s prison.

The settlement, announced Tuesday, will apportion $115 million among 103 victims, paying an average of $1.1 million to each victim. Along with a proposed consent decree in a separate class action addressing the abuse and retaliation against those who spoke up about it, announced December 6, the settlement will close most (but not all) of the pending FCI Dublin litigation (lawsuits which up to now have been vigorously defended by a government unwilling to shoulder responsibility for the culture at the former women’s facility)

“I hope this settlement will help survivors, like me, as they begin to heal – but money will not repair the harm that BOP did to us, or free survivors who continue to suffer in prison, or bring back survivors who were deported and separated from their families,” former prisoner Aimee Chavira said in a statement released by her attorneys. “And money will not stop prison officials from continuing to abuse incarcerated people. I am speaking out to demand justice for all survivors of prison abuse, and to show other survivors that we can stand up against this culture of abuse together. Our government can and must take real action to make sure that no one else suffers like we did at FCI Dublin.”

The BOP, after years of fighting prisoner claims of sexual abuse and retaliation at the Dublin prison – located 25 miles southeast of San Francisco Bay – said Tuesday that it

strongly condemns all forms of sexually abusive behavior and takes its duty seriously to protect the individuals in our custody as well as maintain the safety of our employees and community… The FBOP is dedicated to appropriately addressing the consequences of sexually abusive behavior at FCI Dublin [and] remains committed to rooting out criminal behavior and holding accountable those who violate their oath of office.

Uh-huh.  Message: The BOP cares about its Adults In Custody. See here and here if you don’t believe me. Or just ask “Dirty Dick.”

femalesexprisoner241219Since 2021, at least eight FCI Dublin employees have been charged with sexually abusing inmates. Five pleaded guilty. Two were convicted at trial. Another case is pending. Virtually all FCI Dublin inmates were transferred to other institutions in an unannounced “fire drill” movement last April that generated multiple reports of retaliation and cruelty by BOP employees. Some former FCI Dublin inmates report that they have been the victims of similar misconduct at other institutions, according to the Associated Press.

The Dublin scandal was among the catalysts for passage of the Federal Prison Oversight Act last July, which establishes an independent ombudsman to field and investigate complaints by prisoners, their families, and staff about misconduct and deficiencies. It also requires that the Dept of Justice inspector general conduct regular inspections of all 122 federal prison facilities, issue recommendations to address deficiencies and assign each facility a risk score. Higher-risk facilities would receive more frequent inspections.

Associated Press, US to pay nearly $116M to settle lawsuits over rampant sexual abuse at California women’s prison (December 17, 2024)

Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld, Over 100 Survivors of Staff Sexual Violence at FCI Dublin Reach Historic $115M Settlement With Bureau of Prisons (December 18, 2024)

Federal Prison Oversight Act, Pub.L. 118-71 (July 25, 2024)

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– Thomas L. Root

Some Short Stuff – Update for August 2, 2024

We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

Today, some short reports for easy beach reading…

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SUMMERTIME SHORTS

retro160110Sentencing Commission Retroactivity Decision, Priorities For Next Year Set For Aug 8: At a scheduled Aug 8 meeting, the US Sentencing Commission will decide whether four proposed Guidelines changes to become effective in November will be retroactive.

The four changes for which retroactivity is on the table are

• the acquitted conduct amendment;

• a change to § 2K2.1(b)(4)(B)(i) to provide that the 4-level enhancement gun serial number obliteration applies only if the serial number has been modified such the original number is “is rendered illegible or unrecognizable to the unaided eye;” and

• a change to Commentary in § 2K2.4 to permit grouping of an 18 USC § 922(g) gun count with a 21 USC § 841 drug trafficking count where the defendant has a separate 18 USC § 924(c) gun conviction based on drug trafficking.

• a change in § 2D1.1(a) to tie mandatory and high base offense levels to statutory maximum sentences instead of more complex factors that are not necessarily consistent with 21 USC  § 841(b)(1)(A) or (B).

The Commission will also adopt priorities for the coming year.

US Sentencing Commission, Public Meeting, Thursday, August 8, 2024

‘Dirty Dick’s’ Woes Continue: A superseding indictment handed up last week accused former Bureau of Prisons correctional officer Darrell Wayne “Dirty Dick” Smith of sexually abusing more inmates at FCI Dublin.

Last Thursday, a federal grand jury charged Smith with 15 counts of sexual abuse, including a civil rights violation, against five women in their cells and a laundry facility between 2016 and 2021.. Smith, known to detainees as “Dirty Dick,” had previously been indicted of sexually abusing three female inmates.

He is accused by inmates of actively roaming the prison, seeking out victims, and locking women in their cells until they exposed themselves to him.

L.A. Times, Guard at ‘rape club’ prison faces new charges of sexually abusing inmates (July 26, 2024)

DOJ Sides With Prisoners In SCOTUS First Step Case: The Supreme Court has had to appoint private lawyers to argue the other side of a pending case, Hewett v. United States, asking whether the First Step Act requires a resentencing to apply changes in mandatory minimums favorable to defendants.

goodlawyer240802The Dept of Justice has told the high court that “the government agrees that the best reading of Section 403(b) is that Section 403’s amended statutory penalties apply at any sentencing that takes place after the Act’s effective date, including a resentencing.”

In cases where the government agrees with the petitioner, the Supreme Court appoints a lawyer to argue the other side so that the Court’ decision is based on a thorough examination of the issue. In Erlinger v. United States, decided last month, DOJ agreed with the petitioners that juries should decide whether Armed Career Criminal Act predicate crimes occurred on separate occasions, requiring SCOTUS to appoint counsel to argue against the petitioner. The Court appointed a private attorney to argue the side abandoned by the government.

For Hewitt, the Court appointed Michael H. McGinley, Global Co-chair of the Securities and Complex Litigation practice group for mega law firm Dechert LLP, to argue that First Step does not let defendants benefit from more liberal sentencing terms if their original sentence was imposed before the law passed.

Supreme Court, Order (July 26, 2024)


hardtime240801‘Hard’ Federal Time Converts Another On
e: Peter Navarro, who completed a 4-month federal sentence for contempt of Congress two weeks ago just in time to be whisked to Milwaukee to address the Republican National Convention, said last week that federal law imposes harsher sentences than necessary for drug offenses.

“The standard that we want to have when we think about the criminal justice system, which I’ve been inside of now and I understand this better, there are bad people doing bad things, but there’s good people doing bad things as well,” Navarro said in a TV interview.

Navarro said that the longer people are in prison, the higher the chance that they will commit more crimes because they have “fewer skills” and “get more angry.”

The Trump advisor also said the costs of housing inmates costs about $60,000 a year per inmate, but that placing people on house arrest or in halfway homes reduces the costs by roughly half.

Just the News, Navarro urges U.S. to be ‘smart’ on crime, not ‘soft’ on crime following prison sentence (July 23, 2024)

– Thomas L. Root