Joe Mud
Yesterday, officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation travelled to Chowchilla in the Central Valley to talk to locals about the pending conversion of Valley State Prison for Women into a men’s facility. Chowchilla, the closest town to two of the state’s three women’s prisons, has resisted the conversion, worried about the impact of bringing in thousands of male prisoners. CDCR, meanwhile, says that under realignment, the female prison population will drop so much that they won’t need all three women’s prisons. Joshua Emerson Smith covers Chowchilla as part of his job as a McClatchy Reporter with Merced Sun Star and Chowchilla News. Emerson Smith was at yesterday’s meeting and we checked in with him to find out what went down. You can also read his report on the meeting here.
In an effort to both ease overcrowding in the prison system and keep all prisons open and running, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has opted to convert Valley State Prison for Women into a men’s prison. Under the state’s realignment program, the women’s prison population in California is expected to dramatically drop over the next few years, potentially leaving one or more of the state’s three women’s prisons empty. Instead of closing down a women’s prison, however, CDCR will rehab the property to house men–a move the town of Chowchilla initially opposed:
