SHU report from California USW, December 2002

For many years the California Department of Corruptions policy has been to segregate all purported prison gang members and associates indefinitely in SHU. Gulag ICCs (Institutional Classification Committee) depend upon the conclusions reached by the IGI (Institutional Gang Investigator) apropos the relationship between a prisoner and an alleged "prison gang." Thus segregation is based on the IGI's determination whether a prisoner is a member or associate of a "prison gang." Due process, of course, requires these prisoncrats to have an evidentiary basis for conclusions to consign a prisoner to the SHU, be it for disciplinary or administrative reasons. As a rule it appears due process is (always) trampled up on by these prisoncrats. Confidential informants or inmates functioning as petty pig agents are heavily depended upon by prison authorities to provide information against a prisoner. Confidential informants often concoct or exaggerate information for their own interests such as when an informant debriefs and provides (fabricated) information to obtain a release from SHU. Many inmate petty pig agents fabricate information to execute their own machinations of revenge. These informants are cloaked in confidentiality thus impossible to be confronted and cross examined. IGI's sometimes manipulate the information obtained so as to assure a prison gang validation and subsequent indeterminate SHU term. As you can see, the risk of being validated improperly and entombed in the SHU indefinitely due to bogus information and arbitrary procedures is very high. Not only that, these arbitrary prison gang validations and indeterminate SHU terms have an adverse impact on parole for lifers -- people who are serving a life sentence (some who are victims of the draconian 3-strikes law) and are arbitrarily validated are left to languish in this mausoleum for the living until they expire or go insane.

The avenues for obtaining a release from SHU are unreasonable -- parole, debrief, die or go insane. People who are stuck in the SHU indefinitely and serving a life term are unlikely to be ever granted parole, it just doesn't happen. The many people that are in SHU have been inappropriately validated and have no involvement in alleged "prison gang activities" whatsoever. This is contrary to what IGI "charges." Thus debriefing is not an option. And many people have in fact expired and gone insane.

In reference to CA Dept of Corruption's other sham policy -- prisoners are eligible to get their cases reviewed by these prisoncrats for possible release from SHU to the general prison population if the prisoner has remained free from "gang activity" for six years. This is a load of manure, pure manure. Although some people do indeed get released to the general prison population, they eventually get hauled back to the SHU (indefinitely) due to something that doesn't even constitute "gang activity." The majority of people are retained in SHU and never get classified as 'inactive" even after the six years in SHU because these prisoncrats criminally distort and transform trivial, petty material (get well cards, drawings, a simple "hello" to someone, etc.) that don't constitute gang activity at all, into an item that can be used against prisoners as evidence that they are engaged in "gang activity" and consequently must be retained in SHU for security purposes!

Due process must be an "exception to the rule" or something g because as the interviewee correctly stated, "Due process?? That's a joke!!!"