California Institution for Women

Infobox Prison
prison_name = California Institution for Women (CIW)

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Visitors/images/aerialShots/CIW_8x10.jpgAerial View]
location = Chino, California, United States
coordinates = coord|33.950|-117.635
status = Operational
classification = minimum to medium
capacity = 1,325 (but houses 2,511 as of September 2007)
opened = 1952
closed =
managed_by = California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
director = Dawn Davison, Warden

California Institution for Women (CIW) is a female-only California state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County.

Current facility

Although the official California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Web site gives a mailing address for CIW in the city of Corona in Riverside CountyCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. [http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Visitors/Facilities/CIW.html California Institution for Women (CIW).] Accessed 03 Dec 2007.] , the prison has been physically located in the city of Chino since 2003 following an annexation of land in previously-unincorporated San Bernardino County [Welsh, John. Plan would resolve confusion: Prison: Chino proposes to annex acreage that includes the California Institution for Women. "Press-Enterprise" (Riverside, CA), December 10, 2002.] [City of Chino. [http://www.cityofchino.org/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=108 Annexation of Agricultural Preserve Approved.] Undated but c.2003. Accessed 03 Dec 2007.] [ [http://www.cityofchino.org/civica/press/display.asp?layout=1&Entry=151 Mayor Takes a Stand on Prison Population.] City of Chino, 14 August 2006. Accessed 03 Dec 2007.] .

CIW has convert|120|acre|km2. Its facilities include Level I ("Open dormitories without a secure perimeter") housing, Level II ("Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage") housing, and Level III ("Individual cells, fenced perimeters and armed coverage") housing.California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. [http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Visitors/docs/20071015-WEBmapbooklet.pdf California's Correctional Facilities.] 15 Oct 2007.] In addition, a Reception Center "provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates.".

As of Fiscal Year 2005/2006, CIW had 778 staff and an annual budget of $60 million. As of September 2007, it had a design capacity of 1,325 but a total institution population of 2,511, for an occupancy rate of 189.5 percent.California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. [http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/Offender_Information_Services_Branch/Monthly/TPOP1A/TPOP1Ad0709.pdf Monthly Report of Population as of Midnight September 30, 2007.] ]

History

The original California Institution for Women was dedicated in Tehachapi in 1932; however, after a 1952 earthquake, the female inmates were transferred to the just-opened CIW in Chino, and the Tehachapi facility was rebuilt as the male-only California Correctional Institution [California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. [http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Visitors/Facilities/CCI.html California Correctional Center (CCI).] Accessed 29 Nov 2007.] . CIW was originally called "California Institution for Women at Corona," but "Corona residents objected to the use of their city in the prison's name and it was changed March 1, 1962, to Frontera, a feminine derivative of the word frontier, symbolic for a new beginning."Welsh, John. Hope is the theme: On 50th anniversary of California Institution for Women near Chino, prison inmates are encouraged to look toward their futures. "Press-Enterprise" (Riverside, CA), August 20, 2002.] CIW was the only women's prison in California until 1987, when the Northern California Women’s Facility opened [Mecoy, Laura. New Women's Prison Unfinished But Open. "Sacramento Bee", July 28, 1987.] .

In CIW's early days, "convicted women wore Sunday dresses while walking and working at the campus-like setting," but in the 1980s "three towers were added and officers atop towers were armed with shotguns." Among other programs for inmates at CIW is "Voices from Within" in which inmates read books on tapes for "high school students in remedial classes," "college students with reading disabilities," and the blind. [Vitucci, Claire. Lending their voices: Women inmates record books on tape for the blind and children with learning disabilities. "Press-Enterprise" (Riverside, CA), January 4, 2000.]

The first prison nursery in California opened at CIW in 2006 "to correct what experts call a dangerous disruption of the natural bonding process."De Sa, Karen. [http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/736946/launching_a_prison_nursery_program_keeps_moms_and_infants_together/index.html?source=r_health Launching a Prison Nursery - Program Keeps Moms and Infants Together.] "San Jose Mercury News", November 18, 2006.] It "join [s] newborns with their incarcerated mothers for up to 15 months." In 2007, the state of California proposed building 45 new units for mentally ill inmates at CIW and 975 at the nearby California Institution for Men; local officials opposed such plans. [DeRobertis, Shelli. Prisons' role to grow. "The Sun" (San Bernardino, CA), February 1, 2007.]

Infamous inmates

* Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten, of Charles Manson's "Family," are current inmates.Wares, Donna. Convicts: State's most infamous women live here. "Orange County Register", September 3, 1989.] [Bugliosi, Vincent. "Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders". New York: Norton, 2001. ISBN 0393322238] Each has repeatedly been denied parole. Most recently, Atkins was denied a compassionate release in July 2008 [Rowlands, Ted. [http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/15/release.denied/index.html Ailing Manson follower denied release from prison.] CNN, July 15, 2008. Accessed 16 July 2008.] , Krenwinkel had been scheduled to have a hearing in January 2008 but the date was postponed upon request of her new lawyer [Manson Family Today. [http://www.mansonfamilytoday.info/krenwinkel-biography.htm Patricia Krenwinkel Biography.] Accessed 16 July 2008.] , and Van Houten received a two-year denial in August 2007. [Associated Press. Manson follower Leslie Van Houten denied parole 18th time. August 31, 2007.] .
* Dorothea Puente "did two years and six months [at CIW] for a forgery conviction" beginning in 1984.
* Cathy Evelyn Smith was in CIW between December 1986 and March 1988 for involuntary manslaughter and drug charges related to the death of John Belushi. [Associated Press. Cathy Smith Ends Prison Term for Belushi Death. "Daily News of Los Angeles", March 17, 1988.]
* Brenda Ann Spencer, a current inmate, was convicted of killing two people and wounding nine at a school in San Diego in 1979.Varga, George. [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051118/news_1c18live8.html "Mondays" took on a new meaning. Geldof says 1979 song resonated at Live 8.] "San Diego Union-Tribune", November 18, 2005.] It was this shooting that inspired Bob Geldof to write his song "I Don't Like Mondays" performed by the Boomtown Rats.

ee also

* California Institution for Men

References