By Jamel Walker
On Wednesday, May 23, 2024, three incarcerated individuals transferred from a General Population (GP) facility to Mule Creek State Prison’s Infill Complex, where Facilities D & E, their Non-Designated Program Facilities (NDPFs), are located. Witnesses report that, while in Receiving & Release (R&R), two of the three incarcerated individuals got into an altercation when one of them, a member of the Fresno Bulldogs gang, attacked the other, a member of the South Siders gang. Both are known Hispanic gangs. The Bulldog member was taken to Restricted Housing, and the South Siders gang member was asked to sign a document indicating he would not engage in any further violence, which he signed. However, after being escorted to E Facility’s Housing Unit 21, upon entering dorm A-105, he immediately attacked incarcerated citizen, A. Mendez. Mendez, a visually and mobility-impaired individual who uses a walker to assist in his mobility, reports that “He walked in and attacked me while I was sitting on my bed, but I was able to duck out of the way. The officer sprayed him and he got down.” As virtually all incarcerated individuals understand, until the policy is changed, they will continue to be potential casualties of it.
The CDCR is putting incarcerated individuals housed in NDPFs in danger by exposing them to assaults by individuals known to the CDCR as being members of STGs (Security Threat Groups) and gangs. There 
have been numerous attacks on incarcerated individuals, some of whom are issued Rule Violation Reports (RVRs) for defending themselves from these assaults, resulting in injuries and some being denied parole suitability for a guilty finding for fighting. These assaults occur when members of STGs and gang members are transferred from General Population (GP) facilities to NDPFs.
In December 2022, CDCR’s Office of Public and Employee Communication issued a FAQ sheet titled, Sensitive Needs Yards and Non-Designated Programming Facilities. In it, CDCR discussed its codification of regulations regarding “Sensitive Needs Yards (SNY) and Non-Designated Programming Facilities (NDPF) programs.” The CDCR defines SNY as a “designation for incarcerated people who have safety concerns regarding living on a General Population (GP) yard…” They define NDPF as “an integrated housing model for individuals demonstrating a willingness to participate in rehabilitative programs and to conform to departmental policies.” Although the CDCR claims “assignment to these facilities is made only after careful review of each individual’s case factors, potential safety concerns and housing/rehabilitation needs to ensure people can safely program together,” there have been numerous assaults after their so-called careful review.
Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP), located in Ione, California, has two Level II NDPFs—Facilities D & E. Because of CDCRs policy, on August 19, 2022, incarcerated citizen M. Lewis was issued an RVR when he came to the aid of an elderly incarcerated citizen who was being attacked by a gang member. Said gang member had just arrived from a GP facility. According to the RVR narrative, when the gang member entered E22, D Pod, he immediately began striking an elderly incarcerated citizen. Both were given orders to “Get down!” by custody staff. Both continued fighting. They were then pepper sprayed with a two to three-second burst, from approximately six feet away, aiming for and striking both in the facial area. Lewis was observed to begin striking the attacker in the facial and upper torso area. Both were also ordered to “Get down!” but continued fighting. They were then pepper sprayed, at which time all three disengaged from fighting and separated into the prone position.
Later, when I asked why he joined in the fight, Lewis stated, “I couldn’t stand by and watch some young guy beat up an old man.” Lewis further stated, “They know these guys don’t want to be on this yard, so why force them when they know they are going to attack someone to get off the yard? Now, I was found guilty of fighting for trying to defend an old man from getting beat up.”
Lewis’s comment goes to the heart of CDCR’s policy. Officials at CDCR headquarters and MCSP are aware of the fact that STG and gang members they transfer to MCSP’s NDPF do not want to be there, and upon arrival, they will engage in a violent attack on the first incarcerated citizen they see.
Predictably, that was not the only violent attack that evening. Shortly after the first, custody staff escorted another gang member into Housing Unit E21. Custody staff watched as a gang member walked up to C. Crowder and kicked him. A fight ensued and, for a second time, custody staff had to deploy their pepper spray to subdue the attacker. Later, Crowder relayed the circumstances of the attack. Crowder stated, “[Custody staff] keeps bringing these dudes here when they know they are going to assault one of us.” When I asked Crowder why he believed custody staff know the gang members they transfer to MCSP will assault someone once they arrive, he said, “Staff know that throughout the state MCSP is known for being off limits to gang members.” Crowder speaks to what virtually every incarcerated individual —and certainly nearly every custody staff member at MCSP —knows; gang members are told that if they want to remain in good standing with their gang, they are not allowed to be housed at MCSP. If they are transferred there, they must attack the first incarcerated individual they see, and keep their RVR as proof to show the gang shot–caller when they get transferred to another institution.
In speaking with custody staff at MCSP, some express frustration with the policy. Unable to go on the record, one custody member said, “It’s not safe for you guys and it’s not safe for the officers,” who could get hurt breaking up attacks. In a conversation with a lieutenant, I asked when these gang members express an unwillingness to be housed here, why they cannot be placed in administrative segregation (now Restricted Housing) as a potential threat. The reply was, “They can’t be placed in ad-seg. just because they don’t want to be here. The only way they can be placed in ad-seg. is if they commit an act of violence.” This is the policy. When speaking with a captain about the policy, he said, “They must be given an opportunity to program.” When one considers both of these custody staff’s comments, being given “an opportunity to program” means these gang members “must be given an opportunity” to “commit an act of violence.”
It should be painfully obvious that the policy operates to give gang members an opportunity to assault incarcerated individuals housed in NDPFs. If it is not, let us revisit the evening of August 19, 2022. After the attacks on Lewis and Crowder, a third gang member was given “an opportunity to commit an act of violence,” and took full advantage of said opportunity. M. Niles relayed the circumstances of when he was attacked:
At approximately 9:30 p.m., while on my bunk half asleep, I sensed something was happening on the tier in front of my dorm. I looked up and saw half a dozen officers shaking their pepper spray cans while an inmate was standing in front of them peering through the window of my dorm with an angry scowl. I realized the officers knew the inmate was preparing to attack someone when they opened the door. I didn’t have a chance to put my shoes on, when the officers unlocked and opened the door. As I stood up, the inmate walked in and attacked me. To make matters worse, as I was defending myself, custody staff pepper sprayed me in the face.
That was the third attack in one evening. Six GP incarcerated individuals arrived that evening. Of those, three decided to attack someone. That amounts to a 50% assault rate. There have been assaults prior to and since that evening.
To minimize the impact of the policy on MCSP’s incarcerated citizens, I requested support from the captain in advocating for a revision of the policy. The captain stated the policy would not be revised. He further stated, that “80%” of the GP inmates that arrive do not commit any violence. Although that number can be disputed, based on his comment, it seems that a 20% assault rate is acceptable. In its December 2022 FAQ sheet, the CDCR states, “Currently more than 30,000 incarcerated individuals are positively programming on an NDPF, many of whom are SNY designated.” A 20% assault rate amounts to 6,000 potential casualties, which seems to be an acceptable rate of collateral damage due to CDCR’s policy.
In a March 29, 2023 memorandum issued by Connie Gipson, former Director of the Division of Adult Institutions (DAI), there seems to be an acknowledgment of the flaw in their dangerous policy. In the memorandum, Gipson states: “In 2022, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) began to house all incarcerated people the same way based on their case factors and individual needs, not on their Security Threat Group (STG), or gang affiliation. CDCR aims to give all incarcerated people the opportunity to participate in positive activities… Unfortunately, integration has not been successful for all groups.”
In recognition of their policy’s failure, Gipson goes on to state, “The department has developed a plan to allow the maximum number of people to program peacefully without the threat of violence.” The plan stated that beginning March 17, 2023, the CDCR would begin endorsing these Level III and Level IV members to Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP), California State Prison, Corcoran, and Pleasant Valley State Prison.”
Unfortunately, for the incarcerated citizens of MCSP’s Level II NDPF, Level I and Level II STG and gang members will continue to be given the opportunity to victimize its residents due to CDCR’s inability to recognize, in the face of overwhelming evidence, the failure of its policy. Meanwhile, as late as August 1, 2023, the violence facilitated by CDCR’s flawed and dangerous policy continues… with no end in sight.
