Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008

Penitentiary is slowly scaling back lockdown

Small groups of prisoners are being let out of their cells this week.

By CORINNE REILLY
creilly@mercedsun-star.com

ATWATER -- U.S. Penitentiary Atwater has begun lifting a prisonwide lockdown that's been in place since two inmates stabbed and killed a correctional officer there two months ago, a prison spokesman said Tuesday.

"The institution has begun a slow, gradual transition period toward restoring institution operations," spokesman Miguel Chavez said in an e-mail Tuesday. "For the present time, the lockdown continues under slightly modified conditions."

Inmates are now being allowed out of their cells in small groups for short periods of time under heavy supervision, Chavez said.

Jose Rivera, a 22-year-old Navy veteran who had worked at USP Atwater less than a year, was attacked June 20 by two inmates wielding a handmade weapon inside a prison housing unit.

The prison ordered a lockdown immediately after the attack. Until this week, USP Atwater's 1,100 inmates haven't been allowed to see visitors, make phone calls or leave their cells except to shower.

On Monday, the prison began allowing inmates outside their cells for one-hour stretches, one tier at a time, correctional officers said. A tier includes 16 cells, with one or two inmates per cell.

Inmates are also now taking some of their meals outside their cells, Chavez said. They are allowed to make phone calls, though visitors are still prohibited and inmates still aren't attending classes or going to work inside the institution as they normally would.

Chavez said the U.S. Bureau of Prisons -- the agency that oversees all federal prisons -- sent 21 employees from other institutions across the country to assist USP Atwater as it transitions off lockdown status. It hasn't been decided how long the extra help will stay, Chavez said.

Since Rivera's death, national union officials and local community leaders have demanded safety reforms at the seven-year-old, high-security prison -- reforms that officers say could've prevented Rivera's death.

Specifically, they have asked for staffing increases and policy changes that would make stab-resistant vests and nonlethal weapons, such as batons and Tasers, standard equipment for all federal correctional officers.

The issue of when the prison will end its lockdown has been closely watched. Some have called for the lockdown to be kept in effect until safety improvements -- namely the stab-resistant vests -- are added.

A community group formed after Rivera's death, called Friends and Family of Correctional Officers, issued a statement Tuesday criticizing the Bureau of Prisons for beginning to lift the lockdown ahead of safety reforms.

"We are saddened to hear that USP Atwater is coming off of lockdown without correctional officers getting the needed safety measures that today's reality dictates," the statement said. "Warden (Dennis) Smith continues to demonstrate his poke-a-finger-in-the-eye-of-the-public style of managing."

Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, was also critical Tuesday. Though prison officials promised to keep him apprised of developments, he said, no one informed him of the plan to transition off lockdown.

Word that the lockdown might end this week began circulating last week, but prison officials only released information about it Tuesday -- and only in response to specific inquiries about the matter.

"When the community loses one of its citizens, there's a lot of grief and a lot of concern, and there needs to be more communication from the warden and the prison than what we've seen," Cardoza said. "I think there will continue to be unease until that communication improves and the safety measures are in place."

Cardoza has called for stab-resistant vests, more funding to adequately staff federal prisons and pay increases for USP Atwater officers. He recently introduced legislation that would make the vests mandatory for all federal correctional officers.

A handful of extra officers besides the temporary ones have been added to USP Atwater's ranks, Chavez said. The Bureau of Prisons has agreed to make stab-resistant vests available to its staff, though it's still in the process of selecting and buying the vests.

A date for lifting the lockdown completely has not been established, Chavez said. There have been no disturbances, fights or attacks since the transition away from lockdown status began this week, he added.

Rivera lived in Chowchilla. He was the third of five children and graduated from Le Grand High School in 2003. He served four years in the military including two tours in Iraq.

In line with standard procedures, he was alone with more than 100 inmates when he was attacked, wearing no protective equipment and carrying no weapons.

The two inmates accused of stabbing him, James Leon Guerrero and Jose Cabrera Sablan, were charged by federal prosecutors with first-degree murder last week. They could face the death penalty.

Reporter Corinne Reilly can be reached at (209) 385-2477 or creilly@mercedsun-star.com.