Former FCI Dublin women burst out sobbing, placed in isolation at Minnesota prison

OAKLAND, Calif. - Two Bay Area attorneys flew to a prison in Minnesota and spoke to about 90 women there who had been incarcerated at FCI Dublin but bussed across the country when their prison abruptly shut down. 

Attorneys Kara Janssen and Susan Beaty, who represent about 600 women once held at FCI Dublin in a class-action lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons, described a situation where the women are often put on lockdown because of the rampant drug problem at the Federal Correctional Institute at Waseca, thrown into special housing units, called the SHU, and often told they can't contact their loved ones by email, letter, phone or in person. 

FCI Waseca, like FCI Dublin, is a low-security prison for about 700 women in a city of about 10,000 people. The Bureau of Prisons shut down FCI Dublin in April, saying they couldn't reform the sexualized culture there despite their best efforts. 

"It's hard to say just how many people sobbed," Janssen said of her visit to the Minnesota prison last week. "They cannot even call their young children to tell them they've been put in the SHU. So, their kids just think they've disappeared."

Janssen also said that these women reported not having access to mental health services. And so, when she and Beaty visited, these women were able to share their stories, which they've been holding inside for months. 

"For a lot of folks, this was the first time they could release this horrible trauma and isolation they're still facing," Janssen said. 

Janssen and Beaty didn't want to discuss too many details about their visit, so as not to expose the women individually for fear of retaliation by BOP correctional officers. 

But they did say in general that women would be placed in lockdown or the SHU for relatively minor violations or allegations of violations like appearing to be on drugs or hugging someone. 

On average, the attorneys said that many women spend 90 days in the SHU and when they got out, get placed on an "encumbrance," meaning they can't use the phone or email and can only buy a small amount at the commissary. 

Janssen also cited a recent audit showing that BOP correctional officers at FCI Dublin were wrong 45% of the time when they lodged disciplinary infractions against the women there. 

"They've been frequently on lockdown, meaning they're locked in their cells, in their dorms, unable to easily access the phone or the computer, unable to go to programing or their jobs," Janssen said. "They're extremely isolated, which, of course, exacerbates underlying mental health conditions, anxiety and depression." 

The BOP answered at great length regarding its disciplinary procedures, who gets placed in the SHU and all the mental health services the agency provides. (Read the answer in full here.)  

In part, the agency said that when a person is disciplined, the warden and other employees meet once a week to review each case to ensure that people are in the SHU for the appropriate reasons.

The BOP also said that they have not cut off every woman's ability to contact their loved ones. 

"While there are times that some of these may be limited or controlled for various reasons, absent these, women in the SHU still have access to visitation, and telephone calls," BOP spokesman Scott Taylor wrote.

One woman, Courtney Marie Chicoine, wrote a letter from FCI Waseca and allowed KTVU to use her name. 

She said she is often put on lockdown after other women have been known to have hallucinations or seizures, possibly from drug use.

"When these people fall out or trip out," she wrote, "they are easily identified. However, we are all on lockdown and being punished for it." 

Chicoine also said that she has been requesting mental health services, including her psychiatric medication, but was recently "blown off" by the head psychologist.

When Chicoine said that the continued lockdowns are stressful for her, the head psychologist responded that they're stressful for everyone.

Chicoine countered that it's not the same because the psychologist gets to go home every night, while she has to remain locked up.

"She looked at me like I was dirt and said, ‘Yeah, I didn’t commit any crimes, so you're right, I do get to go home every day,'" Chicoine recounted. 

"This nonstop feeling of helplessness and stress at the level I am experiencing, I would say, is definitely an emergency," she wrote. "I reached out for help and this is the response I got. It makes me wonder if this is the response that people here dealing with drug addiction get when they cry out for help. We already had issues, but the response from staff has been worse since the Dublin women arrived. We have no recourse. Please help. I don't know what else to do." 

In September, the BOP acknowledged that several incarcerated women were taken to the hospital for drug overdoses and that the prison was placed on "modified operation status." Taylor, the BOP spokesman, said that the agency uses a "multi-faceted approach" to tackle the issue of contraband being brought into the prison including metal detectors and body imaging devices. 

Beaty and Janssen want to know why the women are being punished for drug use and wonder if any of the correctional officers – who could be bringing the drugs into the prison – are being investigated and disciplined as well. 

The BOP responded that anyone who brings in drugs will be disciplined, including being fired. 

"They need to change and reform their SHU policy," Janssen said. "Staff should not have unfettered discretion to put people in there whenever they want to." 

The attorneys also questioned what criteria the BOP uses to put someone in the SHU. 

Janssen and Beaty said they talked to women who were placed in solitary because they wanted protection after they witnessed and reported drug use or were going to have a medical visit and were put in isolation before their procedure. 

The BOP responded that the agency "does not permit indiscriminate punishment." 

Both lawyers acknowledged that they also heard reports of some sexual abuse at FCI Waseca, but nothing like at FCI Dublin, where seven officers, including the warden and chaplain, have been convicted of sex crimes against incarcerated women. An eighth correctional officer is headed to trial. 

Beaty has already visited the prison in Seattle called FDC SeaTac, where several FCI Dublin women were transferred to. 

And both lawyers plan to visit FCI Aliceville in Alabama later this month.

What they're finding is that FCI Dublin wasn't the only problem in the vast federal prison system, as the BOP has "all these incredibly harmful policies," Janssen said.

"It was never about an institution," Janssen said. "Dublin just happened to be the sort of exploding example where things got so extreme, even the government couldn't ignore it." 

 Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez