Caring Collectively for People
in Women’s Prisons
We monitor and challenge the abusive conditions inside California women’s prisons.
We fight for the release of women and trans prisoners.
We support women and trans people in their process of re-entering the community.
Update on Dublin Women’s Facility
Press Release
CCWP is a plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). See the August 16th Press Release.
New Report: Maximizing Time, Maximizing Punishment
The Lived Experience of Long-Term Sentences in California Women’s Prisons
The University of California Sentencing Project (UCSP), in collaboration with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) and the UCLA Center for the Study of Women|Streisand Center, is proud to announce the release of its groundbreaking report: “Maximizing Time, Maximizing Punishment: The Lived Experience of Long-Term Sentences in California Women’s Prisons.”
📢⏰ The time for change is NOW! ⏰📢
Read & share the public health research on the ways that women’s prison s harm health and the investments California could be making instead. 📲 humanimpact.org/HealthNotWomensPrisons
🗣This new report, “From Crisis to Care: Ending the Health Harm of Women’s Prisons,” documents the many ways that incarceration in women’s prisons harms the health of cisgender women and transgender, gender-variant, and intersex people and recommends health-promoting community supports we could be investing in instead.
California has already taken significant steps towards reducing its carceral footprint by decreasing its women’s prison population by 70.8% through state policy changes. 💥 Folsom State Prison women’s units have already been emptied, and the facility is set to close down in 2023.
But we MUST do more! California has a chance to lead the nation in ending the harm caused by incarceration. We can close the two remaining women’s prisons, release the small fraction of the state’s incarcerated population who are housed there, and invest the MILLIONS budgeted for these prisons into community-based programs that promote health and prevent incarceration. By doing this, we can provide essential support services for successful reentry into society. 💖
It’s time to shift – #FromCrisis2Care!
#HealthNotPunishment #CareNotCages #CloseCAPrisons
Sue Russo
Rest in Power,
Rest in Peace
Sue Russo, long time prisoner rights advocate, member of CCWP and all-around amazingly good person, died in Central California Women’s Facility on September 29, 2022 from cruel medical neglect by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
Sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole in 1996, Sue’s sentence was commuted by Governor Brown in 2017 to 25 to life in recognition of her history as a Domestic Violence survivor and for her exemplary rehabilitation. She had been turned down by the parole board in spite of her diligence, caring, sincere remorse, and rehabilitation.
One of Sue’s most significant accomplishments during her 28 years of incarceration was the co-founding and facilitation of Prison of Peace, now a non-profit organization available for prisoners in many state prisons. Prison of Peace aims to end violence in prison through teaching conflict resolution and restorative justice skills and processes.
While Sue was at Valley State Prison she was diagnosed with Valley Fever, a chronic condition endemic to California’s Central Valley and the prisons where she was housed. She suffered from ongoing respiratory issues due to the Valley Fever, including COPD, and had multiple surgeries to remove portions of her infected lungs.
If the Board of Prison Hearings had recognized Sue’s accomplishments, and if the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation had provided necessary and adequate health care, Sue would be with us today.
Rest in Power,
Rest in Peace
