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Inmate tells BBC reporter of maggots pouring from the wall!
Click on photo to watch video
Newly released inmates speak to reporters of horrors during the riot.
Click on photo to watch video

"The riot here in Chino was a single incident. However, it is the symptom of a much larger
problem and a much larger illness. The reality is that California's entire prison system
is in a state of crisis. It's collapsing under its own weight" ~Gov. Schwarzenegger 		VIDEO
COMMENTARY...
a common sense
approach!
click here to watch

Shortly after the worst riot in recent history at Chino Institute for Men, I began writing and receiving letters from inmates who wrote of inhumane confinement in cages for extended periods of time. I was moved to try and help these men find legal representation and to bring their stories to the attention of the public. The latter was accomplished in just 2 months since the creation of this web site, thanks to the work of KPCC and Steven Cuevas. Though a law firm has not come forward to offered their services, State officials may launch an investigation into these allegations (at this time they are conducting a preliminary review or "probe"). I could see no need to continue posting these men's full letters, so I have removed them, but will continue to share them with investigators in hopes that this practice of caged housing will stop.



Letters came from seven different dorms inside CIM and some came from inmates who had been transferred to eight other California Prisons. All who wrote of the aftermath spoke of being held in crowded outdoor/indoor cages. Most were stripped to their boxers, shoes and socks only and locked in cages with no overhead shade from the summer heat and no outer clothing or blankets for warmth at night. They wrote of sleeping on asphalt ground or cement floors and wrote of receiving severe sunburns during the days of confinement. Months after the riot and after the "state of emergency" had ended, I continued to received letters from inmates who wrote of being held in a overcrowded cage for up to 5 days before a bed was provided. You can still read several of these letters on the KPCC web site. I have also listed excerpts from many letters. ~ Charlie

Read excerpts


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The comprehensive
3 part investigative report
by Steven Cuevas, KPCC

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Audio of the full report, plus excerpts from Patt Morrison's interview with Gordon Hinkle,
the press secretary for California Department of Corrections
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Caged housing of inmates is nothing new at CIM!
("state of emergency" or not!)

Cages & Overcrowding in 2006!

This time it was Correction Officers who came forward to say this...
"We're locking them in cages like animals for four days at a time without running
water, without toilets, without exercise."
~read the story....


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-------- Death in an outdoor cage!
Wed., Sep. 1 2010.....
Marcia Powell's Death Unavenged:
County Attorney Passes on Prosecuting
Prison Staff


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---Related Reports and Stories -

~ April 22, 2010 ~

After 8 months of investigations THE FINAL REPORT IS IN...
"Inspector General David Shaw's long-awaited investigation into last year's riot at the California
Institution for Men at Chino could not substantiate allegations that prison staff locked inmates in
outdoor cages and denied them food, water and medical attention for days after the melee."
Story by Michael Montgomery ~ Inspector General Clears Chino Prison Staff ...

THE AWARD CEREMONY CAME NEXT OF COURSE (less than one month later)
CDCR Honors Employees for Heroism, Outstanding Service


PDF File (31 Page report) ~ Special Report prepared by the Office of the Inspector General
The Comprehensive Final report

~ March 16, 2010 ~
(Audio/written) ~ CDCR praises Chino staff in August riot report -

CorrectionsOne.com ~ California issues report on 2009 Chino riot ~
Corrections secretary: "prison staff acted bravely, heroically"

PDF File (67 page report) ~ CDCR -After Action Report for Chino Institute for Men ~
Reception Center West Riot
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~ January 14, 2010 ~
(Audio) ~ Lessons from Chino: Patt Morrison Show with guest...
Steven Cuevas (KPCC reporter), Gordon Hinkle (press secretary for CDCR),
Charlie Padilla (creator of this website), Rene “Boxer” Enriquez (former Mexican Mafia member)
and Robert Weisberg (professor of law, Stanford Law School)
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~ January 2, 2010 ~
CaliforniaWatch.org/ ~ Watchblog/letters, Chino Prison Riot
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~ January 12, 2010 ~
Criminal Justice.Change.org ~Inside a Prison Riot
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---Continuing California Prison Crises -


~ December 23, 2009 ~
(Video) ~ Marc Mauer, Sentencing Project ~ Washington Journal on C-SPAN
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~ August 19, 2009 ~
(Audio) ~ No Easy Answers to Fixing State’s Overcrowded Prison System (KPBS~These Days)
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~ October 5, 2009 ~
(Audio) ~ Prison Crisis #1: Overcrowded And Unconstitutional (KPBS~These Days)
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~ October 6, 2009 ~
(Audio) ~ Prison Crisis #2: Life at Richard J. Donovan State Correctional Facility (KPBS~These Days)
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~ October 7, 2009 ~
 (Audio) ~ Prison Crisis #3: Long Sentences, More Prisoners (KPBS~These Days)
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~ October 8, 2009 ~
(Audio) ~ Prison Crisis #4: Parole, Rehabilitation, Reentry (KPBS~These Days)
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~ May 16, 2008 ~
 (Audio) ~ A Closer Look: Racial Tensions Behind Bars ( NPR)
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California Prisons Under Pressure is a series of thirty-minute documentaries
Show 1: The Crises
Show 2: Who Goes to Prison
Show 3: Sentencing
Show 4: Parole


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 "My story is a classic tale of personal integrity in the most dishonest place imaginable, of courage amidst brutality. It parallels the story of Frank Serpico; the New York City cop who exposed corruption in the city’s police department in the 1970’s and became the subject of the classic book, Serpico. Reading his story during my exile inspired me, while giving me the courage to come forward publicly, as Serpico did."
~Donald J. Vodicka (D.J.)

D.J. is a former Correctional Officer who spent seventeen years working in five of the most dangerous prisons in the California Department of Corrections - the largest prison system in the nation.
You can purchase the book on D.J. Vodicka's website or on Amazon.com


Dedicated to the memory of Bobby
Prison was unbearable for Bobby. He died on September 23rd
behind the walls of Chino Prison while on suicide watch.
A special thanks to his mother for sharing this memorial video
"Behind every prison number assigned, there is a person...
someone's loved one!"

This site was created on 11/10/09
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