My fiance is currently incarcerated at Deuel Vocational Institute. My friend's husband is also incarcerated there, but in the Firehouse. He was able to use a phone and call his family to inform them of a riot that included every section of the prison... ending with 15 deaths, and many injured. I received a letter (from my fiance) saying there had been some fires lit by some of the inmates, and everyone's been acting all crazy since they've been on lockdown... but he hasn't said anything more! (I doubt he would be able to.) Does anyone have anymore info?! I'm worried about my Baby!

WOW !! Sorry to hear about the Woes at Deuel.. I thought that was a pretty quite place...YIKES!

Have you seen anything in the news about this? I just did a search on it and came up with nothing. Barb

Did that make the news? Like CNN? I'll be watching for it. That's a pretty serious riot.

I don't see how this one could miss the news media! I hope your loved ones are okay. Blessings,

I've checked all the TV news stations and did a search on CNN's website and nothing. It would be making some news somewhere.

Deuel is a facility for minors. I just looked it up. Are you sure of this?

My son just got moved from DVI to Corcoran yesterday, because of the lockdown apparently. He said they shipped a bunch of them out of DVI in a hurry and he and many others (all level 1 and level 2 guys) got put in Corcoran on the level 4 yard. (He was supposed to be going to Fire camp)

He said that Corcoran told them that they know they are level 1 and 2, and that they will only be on level 4 till they can find a place for them, probably in the next couple of weeks, but that things were so bad at DVI that they made them take them, and level 4 was the only place that they had room at Corcoran to house them.

We were actually down there to DVI to visit (but obviously didn't get to) the morning after the riot. Those darn guards told me everyone was safe and no one got hurt.

I talked to my son tonight and this is what he told me:
He said the riot occurred on Friday night last week (9/12) supposedly in conjunction with one at the same time at SQ (haven't heard anything about that).

He said that one person died and 5 guys got shanked.
He said they didn't get any food until 3 pm the next day so they flooded the place, and he described the tiers as looking like water falls. He said they had 3 guys crammed in his 2-man 5X10 cell, that there was no place to even walk or move in the cell and that everything was all flooded.

He said that after what he went through there, that he is thinking that Corcoran level 4 is looking safe....

Now why are we not surprised that we haven't seen this on the news???? Especially when a man even died and they were looking me straight in the eye and telling me that "no one was hurt" and "everyone is safe." Something is pretty hush-hush here if you ask me.

Its all about hush hush when they loose control..isnt it amazing how you can never find this stuff in the news ?? One of those things that makes you say....Hmmmmmmm???Thanks for the update Crst...

I think the prisons are getting a little nervous that so many of us out here are actually concerned about what's going on in the prisons instead of nobody asking so many questions like it used to be.

Toi-
Deuel is an adult prison and the reception center for Northern California. I wonder where you got Deuel as a facility for minors....hmmmm
Anyway, yes, they are getting a little nervous, but not nervous enough to be truthful, darn it.

And what's this bit of throwing the fire camp boys onto a level 4 yard? And apparently they went straight to level 4, not even a night in reception there. That sounds real friggin safe.

What a mess.

Sometimes I think they have to make the best decision possible for the circumstance, taking all things into consideration: safety , security, distance, transportation, obviously this was an emergency situation, and choices can be limited on the spur of the moment. Do you know how many were sent to this level 4 yard? Im curious is all

I looked it up online and it said minors were there. Maybe it was an old website?

Lin,
I don't know exactly how many were sent to the level 4 yard. He is going to call tomorrow and I will try to remember to ask him. All he said was "There are a bunch of us mom, all Level I and II guys and this is the only place they had room for us."
So a "bunch" I guess....for him that could be anything from 15 to 50....

I'll ask. :)

SQ got a bunch shipped up there too...several hundred.

SQ got about 600 guys, all transfered by bus ... this is the one I posted yesterday? ... I mistaken it for a prison called "TRACY", sorry about that ... he had written DVI next to Tracy, I just didn't catch it ... from what I was told, as told to him by the incoming guys -- the above is TRUE - there were deaths - why this wasn't reported? Who wants to admit to the fact they have a big tragedy on their hands!

http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/2495030/detail.html

Good reporting RORO I just check it out and there were no deaths and the ones that went to the hospital are all ok. Love Barb

Wow, this is so scarey and sad. And really scarey that there was no media coverage of it. What in the world can we do about it? Prison life should not be life or death by another prisoner. UUGGGHHH!!!

Call the news media in the city near Duell. They'll send a reporter out to nose around. If they lie to a reporter and get caught they'll get fried in the coverup. These events are part of the public record. We have a right to know!!!!

Roro ! Great research thanks.. I read the article and found these to points rather intersting..

Rackley said damage and injuries caused by the brawl were minimized due to "the staff's decisive actions, along with their ongoing emergency training."

HI... IT TOOK OVER AN HOUR TO CONTAIN THESE INMATES, HARDLY MINIMIZATION IF YOU ASK ME, AND THAT ARTICLE STATES 10-11 WERE INJURED AND TRANSPORTED TO LOCAL HOSPITALS.

Judging from injuries sustained by the inmates, Rackley said, those involved in the brawl were using various "crude" weapons, although he did not know exactly what those weapons were.

THEY CANT TELL WHAT A STABBING INJURY LOOKS LIKE? SEE ABOVE.. APPARENTLY MORE ONGOING TRAINING IS NEEDED.

EYEBALL ROLL... I CANT STAND CONTRADICTION IN STATEMENTS.. THEY KNOW THEY JUST DONT WANT TO TELL..SIGH..... =0I

My friend informed me not to ask/write anything about the riot because they don't want any information leaking to the public. Deuel has had many lawsuits against them, saying they have been unconstitutional with the way they have been treating the inmates, and do not want anymore. This is horribe! My Baby doesn't deserve this, and I'm sure most of the other inmates don't either... is there anything I can do on the outside to help?!

I want to thank you all for your replies!!!

Yep, the information fed to the news media was really all about how wonderful and well trained the staff is rather than about what led up to the riot in the first place.

If you take the article at face value, it seems they don't have a clue as to what precipitated this!
Give me a break. The reasons are obvious and I do not believe they do not know what they are.
Can anyone say overcrowding?
Can anyone say ongoing verbal abuse and poor treatment by the CO's?

And the "misbehavior" on the part of the inmates was NOT contained only to Z dorm. It only started there. It, of course, rolled through the entire prison in short order. My son was an eyewitness. But that doesn't get even a mention, now does it.

And in the aftermath, my son experienced the flooding and the fires throughout the prison in response to not being fed for nearly 24 hours. Hmmmm....don't see that in the article...

The article indicates that now general population is on lockdown status, with everyone confined to their cells EXCEPT those in the reception center....HELLO?
Reception is always confined to their cells except for mess once a day.
And it's not 2 men to a cell, but 3. In a 5X10 designed for one originally, and normally housing 2. That ought to keep everyone calm, don't you think?

I just love how they so carefully choose their words.
Dare the public (for whom they work) know how things really are? Not if they can get by with minimizing the situation and making themselves look like the well trained heroes.
Do they need to protect themselves from litigation? You bet!

My tax dollars say I get full information, in theory.
But in reality? It's the mushroom philosophy...(keep em in the dark and feed em crap)

I wish I worked for 60 minutes!

None of us works for 60 minutes, but that doesn't mean we can't contact them. If enough people keep bombarding the media and demanding they find out what's going on and give us coverage about prison stuff, they'll do something eventually. The trouble is, though, the prison doesn't have to allow the media any information. And the prisons can and do stop the prisoners from having any access to the media.

The Attica riot was about overcrowding, bad food, prisons messing with the mail, medical neglect------all the things we're seeing in the prisons today------and basically, that's the bottom line of any riot. Most prisoners don't want to be involved in riots because of the desire for their own safety and to do their time by keeping their own noses clean. But taking away all programs and serving lousy food, messing with the mail, crowding them up, etc. gets everyone into a bad mindset and that's a lot more likely to touch off a riot, even if the intent isn't to make specific changes in the prison like Attica's riot in the 70's was designed to do. Prison administration knows this, too. But the ones high up on the chain of command aren't the ones who have to go into the dangerous thick of it------the guards are------and admin figures guards are expendable in the line of duty, basically.

If they know this touches off riots, and they feel that guards in the thick of it are expendable, then how much more so do they feel that our loved ones are expendable????

Let me preface this with I am an animal lover....just so no one gets in a tiff here.... :)

The problem I have is that we, as a society, do not allow our animals to be housed in kennels/pounds/shelters the way we are housing our inmates. Are human lives not even of more value than animals lives???

While society has a lot of preconceived notions about prisoners, I still cannot believe that they would think an animal of higher value and more worthy if decent treatment than a human being.

I think society is uninformed/misinformed. Society needs to get the real picture and then let their legislators know what their wishes are BEFORE there is another Attica.

Age old question...how do you remove the politics and greed just get down to the facts????

Well, how many people either just don't give prisoners a thought or else think justice has been done when a person gets sent to prison and if they hear complaints, they say "well, prison isn't supposed to be fun" and they go about their business feeling self-righteous? Then how many are suddenly MADE aware when a loved one of theirs go to prison and all of a sudden, they're outraged at what THEIR loved one is treated like on the inside? All at once, they're screaming bloody murder about something they allowed to happen by their indifference and the fact that they didn't pay more attention to the facts of the matter and vote differently. It's going to happen more and more till we all figure out what to do about it to change things from out here so no more riots have to happen to take the lives of prisoners and guards to get changes made.

It is hard to know how it feels until you've been there. It is so easy to judge and say it would never happen in your family. If you had raised your kids right.....
I know that I am more compassionate now and less judgemental now that it has happened to me and my family. I wish it were not that way. It is hard to understand why people were not all agree that prisoners do deserve to be safe.

The truth will always come out.. it may take 7 days, 7 weeks or 7 years.. but you can bet your bottom dollar its coming out. For today we as family members, can only do our best to support our loved ones, and register our complaints with the appropriate state agencies, and persons. Write letters, make phone calls, and be relentless for your cause, no matter how small. We can make a difference if we participate in issues that invole us directly. Chances are the same issues are affecting others as well.

I just received a letter from my son, JJ, who was transferred from DVI to San Quentin due to the riot. I will quote from his letter. Please understand that I do not know which is his observation and which is "grapevine".

"On Sunday (September 14), a "huge riot broke out...alot of people died along with some guards. Afterward everyone was interviewed to see if they started it...They found 600 knives afterward and all of Tracy went on lockdown."

JJ stated that those that were determined to not have been involved were "shipped" to a new ...reception".

I am concerned about the lack of news coverage on this issue. Are inmates and their families becoming the "disappeared" as they call them in South America or simply dropped from society's "memory" or "conscience"?

Again, this is from my son and not confirmed.

Take Care, Jim

Jim,
I realize that what your son wrote was not confirmed, and I do know that rumors run rampant, but my son (who transferred to Corcoran 2 from Reception because of the riot) had similar stories.
I read him the kcra article and he tore it to shreds.
He says that he spoke to an inmate who had been there at the death of one man and witnessed it, and stands firm that at least one died and that there were more injuries than reported to the news media. And he is not one to embellish or carry rumor.

I, too, am very concerned about the lack of news coverage. But if the reporter isn't given much information, and everything he does get is minimized, then he hasn't got much of a story, right?
Unless that reporter has personally experienced the system by having a loved one incarcerated, he/she can't have a clue of how the CDC works. The offical statement is probably taken at face value.

And society has a "lock up the bast**d's and throw away the key" mentality. So they are not likely to push the issue or encourage the media to get to the truth. They don't know it isn't the truth. Or care about the truth. It's the old ostrich syndrome. At least until it is THEIR loved one in the system.

Yep, I do believe, that the imprisoned in our society have been dropped from society's collective conscience. It's very scary.

But, hey Jim, on a more personal note (one parent to another) maybe it is a blessing in disguise that something happened to get JJ transferred. The things my son has told me about the conditions of the reception facility there at DVI (light fixtures hanging by one wire and shorting out, mice overtaking their lunches, filth, etc), the bad food, the often rude and inhumane treatment by the staff, the occasional showers, all makes him grateful he got moved out of there. He says he is feeling like where he is now is a much better place. It's still prison, and the guards are still guards, but at least for him, the food is okay, he gets a shower every day, and he isn't battling the mice for his lunch or waking up with mice crawling all over him.
Perhaps that is true for JJ as well.

Best wishes,

My friend's husband was badly injured, and he said that two of his friends were killed. Why was the media only informed of one?! Deuel had to tell them SOMETHING, right?! Of course they wouldn't tell them about how they had (at least) 5 people per ambulance, would they?! Or, of the horrible conditions they have these PEOPLE living in... no food for over a day and a half... 3 men in a 2 man cell... it's HORRIBLE!!!

My fiance told me that one of the men was blindsided by an officer and he struck the officer back, so there may be more coming... what man would take a punch and not fight back?
The officers were even rude to ME when I went to visit... I can't imagine the way they treat the inmates.

I don't know what to do! Wouldn't that make it harder on the Prisoners if we were to contact the media?! That would piss off the guards, leaving the inmates to pay for it... wouldn't it?! This is horrible...

I'll keep them in my prayers!

i am soo happy my guy transferred out of there 3 weeks ago, this thing is really scary!!!

carol

Yacklyn,
The only article I ever found was the kcra article that Roro posted, and when you read it carefully, it only talked about 9 injuries and did not speak to any deaths, thus inferring that NO ONE died. The entire article is a lie, based on the reports we are hearing from those who were there. I'm not sure that is the fault of kcra, but rather what was reported to them.

That's interesting that a gaurd took a swing and that started it....I didn't know that part. THAT explains a lot about why it is all so hush-hush. By the time it comes out (if it comes out) they will have had time to "independently investigate" and then to of course "reprimand" the guard already, thus making it seem like an already done, no-reason-to-fuss, yesterday's news issue.

And, yes, I would think that making a fuss would certainly lead to retaliation for the inmate of one who stirred it up in the media, and maybe for everyone, especially given what your friend told you about not writing/asking anything about it. But as long as they are able to bully, they will continue to do so.

What about an anomymous letter to the media saying that one would prefer to remain anonymous because of fear of retaliation for an inmate?
I know that in my job, when we get an anonymous report, we automatically assume that it is just plain bull, and it usually is, but not always (an anonymous report does kind of lead an investigator to question the credibility of the report when one will not even give their name) but in this instance, perhaps the media would understand one's fear for their loved one in revealing their identity, if the request were carefully worded.

Perhaps a link to this thread from an anonymous email account at the public library????

Another thought...if anyone lives in that area, they can go to the county registrar's office and view the death certificates for that date...they are public record. That would definitely tell where and how a person died. THAT information would provide proof to the media and might peak their interest.
A cover-up always makes a good story, you know?

i hear about all these inmates transfering to san quentin and corcoran but my baby got transfered to north kern. what's up with that?! i am SOOO worried! this has got me SO stressed out!

Daisy,
My understanding is that because it was an emergency situation, they just cleared out reception so they could put the men who had rioted into the reception (2 men cells) housing instead of in the dorms for lockdown. So basically, they put all the guys who were in reception in any prison anywhere they had room, and obviously, it looks like they chose the closest prisons.
My understanding is that over half went to SQ, but the rest went wherever they could get them. It was one full busload that went to Corcoran as far as my son could tell. How many inmates fill a bus???
I wouldn't stress out about your honey. At least he is out of the place and out of lockdown. I guess the conditions were pretty bad there, so hopefully Kern is an improvement.

all this just plain sux, doesn't it????!!!

Great ideas crstdrvn - is anybody going to do this? It is great to talk about ideas, but if no one does anything about them.... I think a reporter should be put on the story - perhaps if they know they are being watched and scrutinized that the COs won't retaliate. I don't know - but I don't think this should get swept under the rug!! Is that what the guys (inmates) in there want us to do?

Lynne,
Well, I am open to writing an anonymous letter and sending it via anonymous email from the library, but I would like to know what the death records show first. It just gives it all the needed credibility, under the circumstances.

Unfortunately, I live 3 1/2 hours away from Tracy and I work on weekdays. Someone who lives near there needs to go to the county and view the death records and get this info to me.

Do we have anyone near there who is willing to do a little sleuthing?

Say we send some anonymous letters, all to the same place...
One anonymous letter may not be very credible; however, a few of them would... wouldn't you think?!
(Especially if they're from different areas.)

It's horrible how they have the power to keep these secrets from the public! The inmates are left helpless and without voice. I understand their rights have been taken away... still, it doesn't seem right that the guards to as they please, and the inmates are left with absolutely no defense.

We only know, what they'd like us to think...
Pretty hypocritical, if you ask me!

thanks for the info crstdrvn. i've been going nuts not knowing anything about why he went to kern and what you said completely makes sense. i'm still worried though because i haven't heard from him yet but i guess i just need to be more patient and wait. thanks again.

also,
i'm all up for sending an anonymous letter. i might be able to even drive up to tracy (which is about 45-60 minutes away) and find out the info needed about the death records. i just need some info on how and where to find that info from while i'm up there. let me know if anyone has any ideas or anyhting else i should find out while there.

But, even if the letters are all anonymous... the prison system will be 'attacked' by the media. Pissing them off would still be even harder on the inmates, names or no names. I'd feel a lot better about sending a letter with the Death Records on hand!
Demanding the truth, with PROOF of a cover-up!

of course so that's why i'm willing to drive all the way up to tracy to get that info. i just don't know WHERE exactly to go in tracy to find that info. any suggestions?

I don't know how that county works, but here in this county
it is through the the county Recorder's Office. All death certificates, just like births, get recorded. But whether it would be the Vital Statistics office or the Recorder's Office would depend on the county. Most use the Recorder's office. Either way, they probably have everything online as we do here, with lots of different search features.

Our county has a room with a bank of computers that you can just walk in and use, no questions asked. They are funky, where you touch the screen to make your selections instead of using a mouse, so it moves a little slower, but they actually post photographs of the death certificates.
If you plug in the date of death and do a search it will give you all of the deaths for that date. THAT is if they have that as a search feature....some do, some don't. Some only go by name.

If there is no search feature for date, then you have to look in the local paper for the names of all who died for the dates in question and then plug in each of those names to view the certificate.
On the certificate, you are looking for a couple of things:

1) cause of death is first...it will list several...like if someone died of a stab wound, the primary cause would probably either be "hemorrhage" or "infection" (if they died a few days out from the incident). Then the next one down would then be the actual stabbing, probably listed as "stab wound". The trick is to read all the causes of death.

2) Another thing to look at is place of death...either hospital, prison, or home. If not in hospital, they must give the actual physical address where the death occurred.

3) See who is listed as the informant. If they died a the prison it will say so...something like DVI, or CDC Tracy will be listed as the informant. If they died in the hospital, it will list the name of the hospital as the informant. If it is someone who dies at home, then it is whoever found them and called 911 or whatever. You get the idea...

4) Look at a little box to the right on the form. It will show whether it was a coronor's case and whether an autopsy was done. If the boxes are checked then it was a cooner's case. Anyone who dies within 72 hours of hospitalization, or dies at home or in a prison or wherever has to be a coroner's case by law. Unfortunately an autopsy does not have to be done on all cases, however. It would be good to know whether they were done on these deaths.

So that's how you do it. When you get done you'll have the answer as to how and where each person died that you have read the death certificate on.
Then we'll know for sure, and have the needed ammunition to reveal a cover-up if there is one.

Good luck!

Hi All -

I received word-who am I kidding?? I got the REAL poop on the riot that took place at Duel on September 12th-

At 11:22pm and racial riot irrupted in Z-dorm(485 inmates) between Hispanics and Blacks. Note: Z dorm is also refered to as "The Zoo". Correctional Officers, were on the catwalks, blasting Z-Dorm inmates with various chemical agents, and firing off rubber bullets by the hundreds. A group of young black inmates-saw this as an opportunity, formed a clown posse and decided to coldcock a couple of white inmates. Needless to say at that point all hell broke loose.

It took approximately 52 minutes for all the smoke to clear, over 100 inmates wound up in the hospital, with stab wounds and blunt force wounds. 9 inmates were critically injured in the escapade.

285 inmates were moved to San Quentin in order to put those inmates back in cells on the C and D wings. Z Dorm is currently unoccupied . The word through the almond orchard was: inmates were being crammed 3 to a cell while the higher powers viewed the video tapes to determine who did what to whom.

You can best believe that many of these dudes are on their way to level 4 maximum security as well as on their way to being sentenced to SHU terms.

All mainline and Reception Center inmates will remain on lockdown status pending Administrative Review / ISU investigation of the incident.

Needless to say, the administration at luxurious DVI is dumber than a box of dustbunnies for creating this senario. They know all too well, who can live peacefully with who and who cant live who. Unprofessionalism abounds!
<direct quote>

DVI is dumber than a box of dustbunnies for creating this senario

WOW! What Prison List are you on? I thought I was the only one who had the POOPSCOOP on this stuff!

HA! You thought you had me didn't you?

LMAO
Love
Kathy

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ! Ohhh Kathy... You are soooo good for the soul.. Im blessed to have you in my life.. Okay.. I will get you on sumthing.. give me time!

Love Ya

Still looking for a BOX of Dustbunnies! Maybe I can get them before Christmas!

On a serious NOTE: I HATE THE SHU and I hope you are wrong about alot of those guys going there! UGH!

Love
Kathy

riot

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