BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1652
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Date of Hearing: April 8, 2014
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1652 (Ammiano) - As Amended: April 3, 2014
SUMMARY : States that a prison inmate may only be placed in the
Security Housing Unit (SHU) for a violation of specified
offenses and deletes the provision of law making a person who is
placed in a SHU upon validation as a gang member or associate
ineligible to earn credits.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States, notwithstanding any other law, a person who is placed
in a SHU, Psychiatric Services Unit, Behavioral Management
Unit, or an Administrative Segregation Unit for misconduct as
described below or upon validation as a prison gang member or
associate is ineligible to earn credits during the time he or
she is in the SHU, Psychiatric Services Unit, Behavioral
Management Unit, or the Administrative Segregation Unit for
that misconduct. (Pen. Code, § 2933.6, subd. (a).)
2)Specifies the following offenses for which an inmate, if
placed in a SHU, Psychiatric Services Unit, Behavioral
Management Unit, or an Administrative Segregation Unit due to
a violation of one of the offenses, is not eligible to receive
credits (Pen. Code, § 2933.6, subd. (b)(1)-(14):
a) Murder, attempted murder, and solicitation of murder.
For purposes of this paragraph, solicitation of murder
shall be proven by the testimony of two witnesses, or of
one witness and corroborating circumstances;
b) Manslaughter;
c) Assault or battery causing serious bodily injury;
d) Assault or battery on a peace officer or other
nonprisoner which results in physical injury;
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e) Assault with a deadly weapon or caustic substance;
f) Rape, attempted rape, sodomy, attempted sodomy, oral
copulation, or attempted oral copulation accomplished
against the victim's will;
g) Taking a hostage;
h) Escape or attempted escape with force or violence;
i) Escape from any departmental prison or institution other
than a camp or reentry facility;
j) Possession or manufacture of a deadly weapon or
explosive device;
aa) Arson involving damage to a structure;
bb) Possession of flammable, explosive material with intent
to burn any structure or property;
cc) Solicitation of assault with a deadly weapon or assault
by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury,
arson, or a forcible sex act; or,
dd) Intentional destruction of state property in excess of
$400 during a riot or disturbance.
3)Provides that the loss of credits prescribed above does not
apply if the administrative finding of the misconduct is
overturned or if the person is criminally prosecuted for the
misconduct and is found not guilty. (Pen. Code, § 2933.6,
subd. (c).)
4)Requires an inmate found guilty of specified offenses to serve
a determinate term in the SHU, ranging from two months to 60
months. (Cal. Code of Regs, tit. 15, § 3341.5.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "One tool that
has been used by California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) to manage prison gangs is the Security
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Housing Unit, a solitary confinement housing program that
isolates inmates for 23 hours per day, and places highly
restrictive rules and prohibitions on inmate privileges. It
limits items they can possess, family visitation, and
interactions with other inmates.
"As of last summer CDCR had assigned more 4,500 inmates to
SHUs in Pelican Bay, Corcoran, Tehachapi and Valley State
Prison for Women. Fewer than half of the states allow
indeterminate sentences to a SHU, and in many states only a
few prisoners at a time serve these long sentences of a decade
or more, whereas California has several hundred that have been
in a SHU for more than a decade.
"The United States is an outlier in the world on the use of
incarceration and solitary confinement, and California is an
outlier in the United States and is the only state to use
solitary confinement for indefinite terms where SHU terms are
assigned for administrative reasons such as being in
possession of artwork or books.
"This created numerous problems over the decades. Ultimately
it led to investigations and findings that conditions in
California's SHUs do not meet international human rights
standards regarding the treatment of incarcerated people. The
conditions amounted to torture, and groups are challenging the
constitutionality of the SHU. This bill is intended to limit
the use of solitary confinement to people who have committed
serious rule violations, and restore time credits for inmates
currently serving time in the SHU on a non-rule violation
assignment."
2)Background : CDCR has SHUs in five of its institutions -
Pelican Bay State Prison, California State Prison in Corcoran,
California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, California
State Prison in Sacramento, and California Institution for
Women. As of January 14, 2013, the Office of the Inspector
General reported that these SHUs had a population of 2, 415
validated prison gang members and associates. (Office of the
Inspector General, Initial Report on CDCR's Progress
Implementing the Blueprint (April 2013) page 19.)
Inmates are assigned to the SHU for two reasons. First,
inmates may be assigned to the SHU for a determinate time
period as punishment for his actions within Pelican Bay. If
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an inmate is found guilty of violating the rules or
regulations of the prison, for example, possessing a weapon,
he may be placed in the SHU for a specified period of time.
Second, if an inmate is validated as a member of one of seven
designated prison gangs, he may be placed in the SHU for an
indeterminate time period. According to CDCR, about 21
percent of inmates serving an indeterminate SHU term are
validated gang members and the remaining 79 percent are gang
associates. (CDCR, Security Housing Units Fact Sheet (Oct.
2013).)
As of February 27, 2014, CDCR has informed this Committee that
289 inmates have spent more than 10 years in a SHU; 46 inmates
have spent more than 20 years in a SHU; and 39 inmates have
spent more than 25 years in a SHU.
Historically, an inmate who was placed in the SHU as a
validated gang member or associate would serve the remainder
of his or her sentence in the SHU, unless the Institutional
Gang Investigator determined that the inmate has had no gang
activity for six years, or the inmate agrees to debrief.
Debriefing requires the inmate to provide gang investigators
with detailed information on alleged gang members and
associates. Most SHU inmates would choose not to debrief for
fear of their personal safety or fear of retribution against
their families. The six-year inactive standard was also very
difficult to meet because any innocuous art work or
communication could be interpreted as gang activity.
In October 2012, CDCR implemented a 24-month pilot program
entitled "Security Threat Group Identification, Prevention,
and Management Instructional Memorandum." Under the Security
Threat Group (STG) Plan, gang members and affiliates are
placed in a step-down program that provides for graduated
housing, privileges, and personal interaction with the goal of
integrating participants back into the general population of
the prisons. There are five steps in the step-down program.
An inmate must remain in Steps One and Two for a minimum of
six months each. An inmate must remain in Steps Three and
Four for minimum of one year each. Steps One through Four
are completed in the SHU. Step Five is in the general
population, but the inmate is monitored for gang activity.
While there are recommended time frames for each step, there
is no limitation on how long an inmate may remain in each
step. Debriefing is still available for inmates who do not
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wish to participate or complete the step-down program.
The STG plan also changed how an inmate can be placed in the
SHU. Under the previous rules, a validated gang member or
associate can be placed in the SHU upon validation. Under the
STG Plan, a validated associate must also have a rules
violation in order to be placed in the SHU. However, a
validated gang member may still be placed in the SHU upon
validation. Additionally, the STG plan includes both prison
gangs and street gangs, potentially allowing a more expansive
group of inmates to be placed in the SHU.
In implementing the STG Plan, CDCR conducted reviews of
inmates currently in the SHU to determine whether their
continued placement in the SHU was appropriate. According to
information provided by CDCR, as of February 3, 2014, CDCR had
completed 394 reviews. Of the 394 inmates reviewed, 258 were
released to the general population. 131 inmates were retained
in the SHU and placed into various levels of the step-down
program. The remaining 5 inmates chose to debrief.
3)Inmate Hunger Strikes : On July 1, 2011, approximately 5,300
inmates in nine CDCR institutions began refusing meals; the
number of inmates peaked to more than 6,500 two days later.
The number of inmates gradually decreased until the hunger
strike ended on July 20, 2011. The hunger strike led by
inmates housed in the Pelican Bay State Prison's SHU to
protest the conditions of the SHU. The inmates had five core
demands:
a) Individual accountability, rather than group punishment,
indefinite SHU status, and restricted privileges;
b) Abolish debriefing policy and modify active/inactive
gang status criteria;
c) Comply with U.S. Commission 2006 Recommendations
regarding an end to long-term solitary confinement;
d) Provide adequate food; and,
e) Expand and provide constructive programming and
privileges for indefinite SHU status inmates.
At the end of the hunger strike, CDCR officials agreed to do
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the following: authorization of watchcaps for purchase and
state issue; authorization of wall calendars for purchase in
canteen; authorization of exercise equipment in SHU yards;
authorization of annual photographs for disciplinary free
inmates; approval for proctors for college examinations; use
of CDCR ombudsman for monitoring and auditing of food
services; authorization of sweatpants for purchase/annual
package; authorization of hobby items; and one photo to family
per year. CDCR also agreed to conduct comprehensive reviews
of the SHU policies that include behavior-based components,
increased privileges based on disciplinary-free behavior, a
step-down process for SHU inmates, and a system that better
defines and weighs necessary points in the validation process.
(Office of the Inspector General, Immediate and Expedited
Review and Assessment of CDCR's Response to the Issues Raised
by the Hunger Strike (Oct. 17, 2011) pp. 1-2.)
On July 8, 2013, approximately 30,000 inmates joined in on a
second hunger strike led by Pelican Bay State Prison SHU
inmates. The inmates wanted more substantive changes to
CDCR's policy for validating inmates as gang leaders or
accomplices. Under the STG Plan, gang members are still be
placed in the SHU without requiring any rules violations and
there is still no time limitation to how long a person may
remain in the SHU based on gang affiliation. The hunger
strike ended on September 5, 2013, with the promise of
legislative hearings on the use and conditions of solitary
confinement in California's prisons.
( (as of Mar. 31, 2014.)
4)Pelican Bay State Prison Gang Culture : According to prison
officials, Pelican Bay State Prison houses the most
influential gang members throughout the California prison
system. These gangs include the Aryan Brotherhood, Mexican
Mafia, Nuestra Familia (NF), and Black Guerilla Family (BGF),
among others. (See Pelican Bay State Prison, Gang Management
Presentation (2011).) According to a Pelican Bay State Prison
SHU inmate, when an inmate enters prison and does not join the
gang of his race, he will be a target for the other gangs
within days. "When there's a war, there's a war . . . You're
a target just because of the color of your skin, so you might
as well. You're going to have to defend yourself. The lines
get divided. You've gotta take sides."
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story.php?storyId=5584254> (as of Mar. 31, 2014).)
The Aryan Brotherhood (AB) began as a neo-Nazi group formed at
San Quentin Prison in 1964 for self-protection against other
racially based gangs in prison. AB utilizes subordinate gangs
to enforce their policies in the General Population yards of
the prison. Each member of AB holds the same authority and is
governed by a Commission and Council. (See Pelican Bay State
Prison, Gang Management Presentation (2011).)
The Mexican Mafia (EME) formed at the Deuel Vocational
Institute in 1956 and 1957 by Hispanic inmates who were
predominately from East Los Angeles street gangs. EME grew
throughout the 1960s by expanding its control of the prison
subculture through narcotics trafficking, gambling, debt
collection, extortion and other inmate illicit activity. EME
derives its power from Southern Hispanic gang members known as
"Surenos." In prison, Surenos are expected to perform tasks
such as making or holding weapons, holding or transporting
drugs, passing messages, committing assaults and homicides.
Each member of EME has the rights to one-third of all
narcotics profits from the General Population yards that they
"own" and each member also receives one-third of all narcotic
profits from street gangs from his neighborhood. (Id.)
Nuestra Familia was organized into a prison gang in 1956 at
San Quentin State Prison. NF is the traditional rival of EME.
The executive body is called the "High Command", which is
supported by an Inner Council comprised of seasoned NF
members. The NF Constitution mandates the NF leadership is
housed at Pelican Bay State Prison, which they refer to as
"Headquarters" or the "White House." (Id.)
The Black Guerilla Family was loosely organized under the name
the "Black Family" in California prisons in the mid-1960s.
The Black Family later reorganized as the BGF. One early
leader, George Lester Jackson, was killed during an armed
escape attempt from San Quentin in 1971, and leadership has
since passed down through a succession of leaders. The BGF
functions under a constitution which includes a code of ethics
and outlines the rank structure of the BGF. (Id.)
These prison gangs are believed by prison officials to be
responsible for the majority of violence on the General
Population in prison and the majority of criminal activity
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associated with criminal street gangs. According to CDCR
statistics, many of the gang leaders housed in the SHU are
accused of committing assaults on staff, stabbing other
inmates and in some cases murdering other inmates. (Id.)
In an op-ed piece, the Secretary of CDCR Jeffrey Beard wrote
that the hunger strikes were orchestrated by prison gang
leaders in order to further their agendas. "So what is this
really about? Some of the men who participated in the last
hunger strike have since dropped out of the gangs for
religious or personal reasons, and they said it best in
recently filed court declarations. 'Honestly, we did not care
about human rights,' one inmate said about the 2011 hunger
strike. 'The objective was to get into the general population,
or mainline, and start running our street regiments again.'
Another described the hunger strike this way: 'We knew we
could tap big time support through this tactic, but we weren't
trying to improve the conditions in the SHU; we were trying to
get out of the SHU to further our gang agenda on the
mainline.'
"It's no different this time. The inmates calling the shots
are leaders in four of the most violent and influential prison
gangs in California: the Aryan Brotherhood, the Mexican Mafia,
Nuestra Familia and the Black Guerrilla Family. We're talking
about convicted murderers who are putting lives at risk to
advance their own agenda of violence."
( (as of Apr. 2, 2014).)
5)Arguments in Support :
a) According to the California Public Defenders
Association , "Recently, public attention has been focused
on this issue due to several high profile events. In 2013,
California prisoners throughout the state went on a
prolonged hunger strike to demand changes in the desperate
conditions of inmates locked in the SHU, and in particular
prison gang members without hope of ever being released.
For such status offenders, the only path to release is
'debriefing.' 'Debriefing' is the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation's term for where a prison
gang member or associate renounces their gang affiliation
by naming all of the other gang members and their
practices. Since California's state prisons are already
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rife with inmate on inmate violence 'debriefing' has the
potential to make the former gang member a target. Such a
policy also puts members of the community at risk since
'debriefed' former gang members' families become targets as
well."
b) According to the Friends Committee on Legislation of
California , "This change in policy is needed to begin
bringing California in line with practices employed by
other states with regards to SHU policies. California is
currently the 'outlier' compared to other states in terms
of the number of people we keep in isolation and the amount
of time that they remain there.
"Restricting the use of solitary confinement for the most
serious, violent offenses goes a long way correcting the
abuses we have been seeing in the use of solitary
confinement. We are told that SHUs are reserved for 'the
worst of the worst,' but the recent informational hearings
demonstrate that the people held in SHUs the longest have
committed no actual offenses and are there simply for 'gang
affiliation.' The case by case reviews currently underway
have now examined over 700 cases and continue to find 64
percent of those held in SHUs qualified for transfer to the
general population."
6)Argument in Opposition : According to the Taxpayers for
Improving Public Safety , "Despite spending billions of dollars
in what has proven to be a failure to improve dental, medical
and mental health treatment for inmates, recent events at the
new Stockton facility represent one example of proof that the
efforts have been an abject failure. California refuses to
devote the necessary resources for school districts to hire
professionals to identify individuals who demonstrate either
mental health issues or anti-social tendencies and then
provide treatment during the years when anti-social or
unacceptable behavior due to mental health issues can be
altered. As the legislature discovered during hearings on the
subject, many of the inmates housed in the SHU have
significant mental health issues. Yet, there is no funding
for early treatment of these individuals to prevent
criminality.
"The solution to reduce SHU population is to provide (1) a
socially acceptable alternative to gang membership and (2)
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mental health treatment, both pre and post release. Nothing
else will reduce the need for lengthy SHU terms. By the time
an inmate has or is being transferred to a SHU term, the
opportunities to correct the antisocial and/or criminal
behavior patterns have been lost. All that remains is to hope
that SHU inmates age out of their criminal behavior. Limiting
SHU terms for individuals that remain dangerous only endangers
inmates in the general population, prison staff and the public
at large."
7)Current Legislation : SB 892 (Hancock) would place additional
due process procedures for determining if an inmate is a
member of or an associate of a gang, and subject to placement
in a SHU. SB 892 would also require data collection and
reports to the Legislature pertaining to inmates in a SHU and
a Psychiatric Services Unit. SB 892 is pending hearing by the
Senate Committee on Public Safety.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Friends Service Committee
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
California Families Against Solitary Confinement
California Public Defenders Association
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Facts Education Fund
Fair Chance Project
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
One private individual
Opposition
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
California District Attorneys Association
California State Sheriffs Association
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
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