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| Calif. struggles to desegregate its inmates |
| By google.com |
| Published: 08/12/2009 |
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The riot that ravaged a Southern California prison and injured 175 inmates began with a fight between black and Hispanic gang members, a stark reminder of the difficulty of race relations behind bars and the challenges of desegregating inmates. In the nation's largest state prison system, black, Hispanic, Asian and white gangs generally don't mix. When they do, trouble typically follows. "It isn't that everybody in the inmate population is against integration — they like their teeth," said David Miles, a 46-year-old black inmate at another prison, Sierra Conservation Center. Mindful of that, California has for decades segregated inmates by race in their cells and sleeping areas. In general, whole cell blocks and open dormitories are mixed race. But four years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court found the practice discriminatory, citing Brown v. Board of Education. The court said it reinforced a cycle of racial hatred and violence and ordered the state to desegregate its prisons. At the California Institution for Men in Chino, segregation is still in place. The weekend riot started in a dormitory-style housing wing where many races are in a large room, but the sleeping arrangements are segregated. The exact cause of the riot remains under investigation. All the state prisons were supposed to be integrated by the end of last year, but the process is far behind schedule. Last fall, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation began desegregating two prisons in the Sierra foothills, southeast of the state capital. They are not yet fully integrated, and officials haven't started on any other prisons. The delay is due in part to state budget cuts that have reduced prison staff, corrections department spokesman Seth Unger said. The system has 1,000 vacancies and is to be reduced by 5,000 positions over two years. Read More. |
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