California prisons restrict movement, calls and visits as violence surges
A correctional officer walks near a gate, which is one of two entrances into Kern Valley State Prison, June 14, 2005, in Delano, Calif. (AP Photo/Ric Francis,File)
High-security prisons across California have tightly restricted movement, calls and visits while officials probe a surge in violence this year.
The restrictions started Saturday and affect the top-security sections of nearly a dozen lockups including the California Correctional Institution, California State Prison-Los Angeles County and California State Prison-Sacramento.
Under the protocols, meals must be delivered directly to housing units and showers and any other movements must be done in a “controlled manner,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.
Calls by telephone and ViaPath tablet are also restricted, as are visitations.
Prisoners still have access to medical care, legal proceedings and other “critical appointments,” corrections officials said.
“It is important to note this modified program is distinct from a lockdown and applies exclusively to Level IV housing units,” the statement said.
Asked for more information about the restrictions, CDCR spokesperson Terri Hardy said only that officials are conducting a “comprehensive investigation into underlying causes of violent incidents at Level IV facilities throughout the state. The investigation continues.”
Corrections officials are investigating seven deaths since the beginning of the year as homicides. Three of those happened the day before the restrictions were announced by the Corrections department.
Joshua L. Peppers, 39, was attacked by another prisoner at the Los Angeles County institution March 7 and died at a medical facility, corrections officials said in a statement. He was serving a sentence for second-degree robbery.
That same morning Jake T. Kennedy, 32, was found stabbed multiple times in his cell at the Sacramento prison, according to corrections officials. He died at a triage and treatment area, and an improvised weapon was found. He was serving time for carrying a concealed bladed weapon and for a subsequent prison assault.
And hours later German M. Merino, 37, died after he was attacked by two inmates in Kern Valley State Prison, authorities said. He was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder.
Prison violence is a longstanding problem as people serving life sentences have little to lose.
In January, for example, Mario Campbell, 36, was attacked on the main exercise yard at the Sacramento prison by two inmates serving live with the possibility of parole, according to corrections officials. He died at a medical facility about an hour and a half later, and officers found three improvised weapons.
The restrictions will stay in place until the investigation is completed. It’s unclear how long that could take.
Last year there were 32 homicides in state lockups, according to the California Correctional Health Care Services.