A judge on Friday appointed a special master to oversee a troubled federal women’s prison in California known for rampant sexual abuse against inmates, marking the first time the Bureau of Prisons has been subject to such oversight.
A 2021 Associated Press investigation that found a culture of abuse and cover-ups at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin brought increased scrutiny from Congress and the Bureau of Prisons. The low-security prison and its adjacent minimum-security satellite camp, located about 21 miles (34 kilometers) east of Oakland, have more than 600 inmates.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers named Wendy Still — a veteran corrections and probation official with extensive experience coordinating compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act — as the special master. The judge also appointed several staff members to assist her. In appointing Still, the judge said she and her team “shall have full access to FCI Dublin, all its records, and all physical facilities.”
