http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/2781431/detail.html

POSTED: 9:09 AM PST January 21, 2004
UPDATED: 9:36 AM PST January 21, 2004
IONE, Calif. -- Autopsies will be performed Wednesday on two teens
found dead in their cell at the Preston Youth Corrections Facility
in Ione earlier this week Durrell Feaster, 18, and his cellmate were
found hanging from their bed frame just after noon on Monday.

"The staff looked into room and saw two wards that appeared to be
doing what we call an attempted suicide. She quickly opened the
door ... sfaff rushed in and cut them free and performed CPR,"
California Youth Authority spokesman George Kostyrno said.
Authorities said they believe the deaths are a double suicide, but
Feaster's family said they don't believe he would take his own life.

"I'm not buying that. I don't care what the state or anybody has to
say about it ... I oppose that thought," Feaster's mother, Gloria
Feaster, said.
Gloria Feaster also said she believes her son was killed by white
supremacist gang members -- sacrificed on Martin Luther King Jr.
Day.
The CYA has sent an incident review team to the facility to
investigate the deaths.

Copyright 2004 by TheKCRAChannel. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I prayers go out to the families of these kids.

They Def. have my prayer's to this is just horible........I am also praying for all the mother that have young in prison.......Because unless they get under an ole timers wing the are so unprotected. Because the guards sure as heck don't protect them. They are too buzy talking to there fellow guards or there picks and chooses........Kat

This truely hit my HEART! Many times my son had low days and I thank God everyday that the past 9 years has kept him alive. This was the first thing I read today and I can not tell you how much this has effected me. And if it is true that this child was sacrificied for such crap, all I can say is I hope the Lord has Mercy on those who did it.

(((PRAYERS))))
THANKS CHRISTY!
Lova Ya
Kathy
(Feb 7th)

My heart goes out to the two inmates families. I too lost a son in jail just this past Sept. We are still trying to find out what happened. The families are in my prayers.

January 24, 2004

Youth Jail Hangings Questioned
Families of two teenage offenders found dead in a shared cell say
officials did not keep adequate watch over the Ione facility's wards.

By Monte Morin and Allison Hoffman, Times Staff Writers

Families of two juvenile offenders found hanged in their shared cell at
a youth correctional facility in Ione, Calif., faulted caretakers
Friday for failing to keep adequate watch over the wards.
The bodies of Deon Whitfield, 17, of Los Angeles and Durrell Tadon
Feaster, 18, of Stockton were discovered Monday afternoon in a routine
check of their cell at the Preston Youth Correctional Facility.

Preliminary autopsy results released Wednesday by the Amador County
Sheriff's Office cited asphyxiation as the cause of death.
The pair used bedsheets tied to a bed support to hang themselves,
officials said.
Initially, relatives of the two youths suspected that they died at the
hands of white supremacist gang members at the 640-bed facility,
pointing out that the youths were black and that they died on Martin
Luther King Jr. Day.
Though authorities said the youths lacked marks indicating a struggle,
and that the incident appeared to be a "straight suicide," the mother
of one youth said she refused to believe that he would take his own
life.
"I'm not buying that," Feaster's mother, Gloria Feaster, told KCRA-TV
in Sacramento. "I don't care what the state or anybody has to say about
it…. I oppose that thought."
But on Friday, a lawyer for Whitfield's relatives said that the youth
should have been under special mental health supervision.
"I've never heard of a case where two young kids who were probably both
suicidal were placed in a cell together," said lawyer Sonia Mercado.
"The question is, why were these young men bunked together? Why weren't
they under more care? The facility should have been looking out for
them. That's their job."
Officials at the California Youth Authority say they are reviewing the
incident, even as the Ione Police Department and the Amador County
Sheriff's Office continue their investigation.
The pair were found about 1:30 p.m. Monday during a regular half-hourly
check of their cell. Under normal circumstances, the pair would have
been attending high school classes at the prison, but because of the
holiday, they did not have school and were locked in their narrow cell.
"The staff looked into the room and saw two wards that appeared to be
making a suicide gesture," said California Youth Authority spokesman
George Kostyrko. "She quickly opened the door, and staff rushed in and
cut them free.
They attempted CPR and paramedics who arrived a few minutes later
attempted CPR. Basically, they succeeded in their suicide attempt."
Sheriff's Sgt. Mark Lawrence said the youths left two letters, "one to
family members and another note passed around to other members inside."
Authorities would not say what the pair had written in the notes.
Lawrence said a staff member had checked the cell at 1 p.m. and found
no problems. When she returned at 1:23 p.m., she found the pair hanging
from a pipe that supports the cell's narrow upper bunk.
The final autopsy report will be written when toxicology results are
returned in a few weeks, Lawrence said.
Whitfield was committed to the CYA in August for possession of hard
narcotics and attempted burglary.
Feaster was committed in October 2001 for grand theft, fraud, auto
theft and receiving stolen property.
Kostyrko said there appeared to be no reason to place the youths under
stricter supervision than periodic half-hour checks.
Some wards have on five-minute checks or are kept under video
surveillance if matters warrant, he said.
Kostyrko said there have been 56 attempted suicides in CYA facilities
statewide since June 2000. The last suicides at Preston were in 1996,
Kostyrko said.

Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-
hanged24jan24,1,7571112.story?coll=la-headlines-california

That shot through me, I feel for the families and my prayers are out for them. I cant imagine how I would react if that was any my kids.

56?!?! Attempeted sucidies?? That is outrageous. Do they let these youths out of their cell other then to go to school? What about those days there's no school? Man this is SO darn sad!! Their poor mom's and families!! :( :(

They'll be in my prayers for sure!!

Stacy

Claim filed by families of Calif. teens found hanged in cell

By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO --
The families of two teenagers found hanged in their California Youth Authority cell last month filed a damages claim Tuesday, accusing officials of providing inadequate mental health care for young prisoners.

The teenagers killed themselves two weeks before the release of six state-funded studies reporting that young California inmates are often locked in cages as punishment and those with mental problems are frequently drugged and improperly cared for. The youth system houses inmates ranging in age from 12 to 25, most of them teenagers.

Deon Whitfield, 17, of Los Angeles, and Durrell Taddon Feaster, 18, of Stockton, were found Jan. 19 hanging from bed sheets in the cell they shared at the Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione. Their deaths were ruled suicides.

The claim sent Tuesday to the state Victims Compensation and Government Claims Board asks damages of "not less than $2 million," though there's no telling how much will be awarded, said attorney Sonia Mercado.

The families took the unusual step of also including nonbinding civil rights claims in hope of sparking reforms. They hope to meet with state officials including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and testify at a continuing series of state Senate hearings into the youth authority and the adult prison system.

"What do we have to do so this doesn't happen to other kids? Let's engage in solutions rather than engaging in litigation," Mercado said.

The system needs, at a minimum, better mental health care, additional funding even as the state is cutting other programs, and a policy placing youths in facilities closer to their families, she said.

Whitfield's family was unable to visit him regularly because of the long distance between Ione and Los Angeles, she said. Feaster's family was expecting his release this month.

"They're still in a state of shock," Mercado said. She quoted Feaster's father, Alan, as saying, "I was waiting for him to come home to hug him, now I have to bury him." State Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, who is co-chairing the hearings, on Tuesday visited the Ione facility southeast of Sacramento. She said the deaths of the two youths show, "we can no longer be complacent while lives are at risk."

The reports released last month were prepared as the result of a class-action lawsuit accusing the system of providing inhumane conditions for its approximately 4,600 inmates.

Youth authority spokeswoman Sarah Ludeman said she couldn't comment on the filing, but said of the hangings, "It's a tragedy. Our condolences go out to both families."

---

On the Net:

California Youth Authority:

Gosh, This Is Horrible! When I Was In California Youth Authority
Back In The 70's, You Never Heard Of Children Being In "cages",
This Article Is Heartbreaking, Not Only To The Families That Have
Lost Their Children, But For All Of Us That Have Served Time In
Our State Prison Systems. May God Provide Comfort And Support
To These Two Families, And To All Of Us That Know What Happens
Behind The Walls. Eric's Homegirl, Suzi :(

Wow, this is a very deep situation, I feel for these two boys and their families. The system just doesn't care and this proves it.