11 inmates still hospitalized in Avenal State Prison violence

An outbreak of violence caused by Latino gangs at Avenal State Prison in Central California left nearly a dozen inmates hospitalized today, including one in serious condition, officials said.

A total of 193 inmates were involved in the fighting that started in the yard Monday shortly after 8:30 p.m., said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Twenty-four inmates were injured so seriously they had to be hospitalized outside the prison that houses 6,395 minimum- and medium-security inmates, Thornton said. Eleven remained hospitalized today.

"They suffered puncture and slash wounds," she said.

Corrections officials recovered 30 inmate-made weapons as they quelled the disturbance in a part of the prison known as Facility 5. Thornton said even medical equipment became weapons.

"They used parts from wheelchairs and walkers," Thornton said.

The cause of the violence was attributed to rivalry between Latino gangs, officials said. The first outbreak occurred at 8:36 p.m. in the yard and three housing units and was quelled about 10:30 p.m.

Then another fight erupted in a different housing unit, Thornton said. The prison has been placed on a modified program with inmates kept in their dormitory housing.

-- Richard Winton

Comments

[TBrown68]

Let all the gang-bangers kill each other and save us all some money.

[John]

Let them fight until the death. According to a Federal judge CAlifornia must reduce its prision population. This is better than releasing them into civil society.

[richie hades]

good riddance...

[steve humann]

wow. what thoughtful caring comments. I wonder how many people are in Avenal or any other US prison simply for being in violation of our foolish drug policies. you want to save money? let's end the war on drugs and only put real offenders in prison. check out LEAP too. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

as for your civil society, to paraphrase a famous pacifist: I think it would be a good idea.

[MWalters]

Give a man a mask and you will soon see the true man.

[MWalters]

Prison overcrowding is contributing to unrest in the state's institutions. Regardless of what brought these men to prison, they are, nevertheless, human beings. I dare any of the commentors to make their salacious comments to inmates in person.

[Louie]

I agree with TBrown, John, and richie hades, let the die. Who cares, they're criminals, aren't contributing in any way positively to our world, why waste money on them.

[Shorty]

My husband was in that riot. How dare u say let them die. Not all of them are bad people. They just made bad choices. Like no one in this world makes mistakes. Does that mean they should die to. Do u ever think about those people in prisons. They have wifes and kids at home.

[Tee]

You go "MWalters.. I agree - all prison does is make you harder
now there are many different degree of prisons - I infact agree kill the serial murders, molesters off!! But most percent are in for drug related!! Any person with just two-three DUI's can end up in State Prison, is that what you'd want for your family member, yes accountability... but it is overwhelming what prison can do to a person.

[Some know]

Those of you who comment about all the inmates killing each other, be careful, you never know when you may be the recepient of the crooked justice that goes on in some California counties.

Then YOU will find yourself on one of these prison yards fighting for your life on a daily basis.

[Marlena Barnes]

Subsidized Breeding is a major part of the problem these 20 something year olds in prison were born to unwed mothers that we the taxpayer gladly supported by giving them freebies, i.e, cash aid, food stamps, medi-cal, section 8 housing, free education, free childcare, etc. etc. made it so dam easy for these females to breed with anyone and that anyone never had to take responsiblity for his offspring, the result, a huge prison population. We need to bring back public shame for getting knocked up out of wedlock and force these stupid females to give up their kids to a two parent home that will raise them right - not perpetuate the cycle of illegimacy, gang banging and criminal activity.

[Angels]

There guys that are tired of the same thing, day after day, living in someone else space that's why they need to release the over crowed prisons. Shorty is right! There people to! May be you people should try living in prison and not have all the things we take for granted, and we need to give them a chance to work so they can be a part of society.

[Kent Depner]

Avenal was designed for minimum security inmates. Parol violators. Why does it house gang members in a dormitory setting, with no gun coverage?

[Kent Depner]

Shorty, what about the staff! 1,300 inmates and 23 staff on a yard? kiss your ass good by, if the inmates turn on staff!

[CR]

Maybe they riot because they are bored and have nothing else to do. Create a little drama. Not! They riot because they are told to by there gang leaders. If they refuse to follow directions they are delt with pretty severely. This type of violence significantly threatens the safety and security of our prisons, the staff, inmates and to some degree the public. My respect to all the correctional officers who walk among these felons every day. It is seriously a dangerous job. As a team they use tactics and force when necessary to stop these violent acts. Thank you for doing your part to maintain security in our prisons and for keeping the public safe from the gangbangers. You are all sheepdogs!

[PJ]

EXTREME overcrowding, filth, insufficient nutrition, and medical neglect cannot be hidden. This is a pressure cooker that apparently is boiling over and maybe the gangs inside have the strength to collectively fight back. Our laws do not include sentencing to this type of punishment. Accountability is required of all institutions recieving public funding. Whether one is a member of a gang or someone serving time for dui or petty theft. No where in our law books does it state sentencing to sub human living conditions. Also why are rival gang members being forced to live cramped up together in such conditions? This violence is carried on in the streets. This is supposed to be controlled and prevented from happening inside. You cannot keep dumping human beings into a container without it bursting when capacity is surpased. Put the blame where it belongs. Starting with the politicians who irresponsibly pushed an image of tough on crime just to get elected and without consideration for the consequences. Lock em up and throw away the key just got us a pressure cooker response so how do we respond to years of indeference?

[shorty]

Well kent staff n prisoners both have familties at home. But the prisons need to be more smarter. Dont have different gangs together fights will happen.

[Avenal Wife]

My husband is in Avenal, a victime of ridiculous drug policies that created this over crowding in the first place. He is not a gang, and should I say, managed to stay out of the way of all the violence. Thank God. He is not worthless to me nor is he worthless to his family. That is definitely not the way to ease overcrowding.

[OnTheLine]

Shorty, do you really think that your husband was thinking about his wife and kids when he was "making his mistake"?
If you choose to commit a crime then be prepared to face the consequences whatever they may be. People need to start taking responsibility for their own action. If your husband get's "caught up" in one me these incidents and gets injured or killed, it's still his fault because he committed the crime that put him there! Live with it!

[tufyeigongztli]

It is absolutely astonishing to me the level of ignorance demonstrated by the people on these blogs. No one ever asks the BIG questions, we are all too caught up on the immediate drama.
Why all the overcrowding issues now? We know this “pressure cooker” as some have referred to it has been past its maximum capacity for quite some time now! Avenal as a matter of fact is the most crowed at 263% capacity last I checked. As the state of California begins to feel the pressure from a federal stance they are as I see in a stage of strategic planning. What do I mean by this, it is as simple as a game of chess! The inmates as sad as it is are simple ponds in this game; they are set up and used to the advantage of those in power. They are purposely being housed in a manner which to any human being becomes intolerable, not only because of the overcrowding but because of the internal politics. Yes the politics no one talks about! Openly known rival gangs are housed not only together but are bunked in a manner where they will cross each other with the purpose of pushing each other’s buttons. WHY? Because it will cause a riot, hence media attention the result of this (strategic planning) simple, prove that these inmates are animals, who are not worthy of a second change amongst society. The state of California will have yet one more reason to “prove” that 33 prisons are not enough, that more money should be allocated for the construction of a new facility. Check Mate!!!! I just read in the news a 69 year old man robbed a bank to pay his mortgage, let’s ask the BIG questions! California is as desperate as that 69 year old man, so they will continue to strategically plan ways to add more prisons and continue to deny parole to those who qualify. I assure you that this, the 3rd riot in two months are but the beginning. May the creator have mercy of those souls who play God with other peoples destinies.

[shorty]

Excuse me ontheline my husband and me didn't meet until after he was in prison. He was 18 when he got locked up. He was young and made bad choices. He did make his mistakes and is paying for his actions in prison. But that doesn't mean he should get hurt or killed well he is serving his time. People don't understand that when ur locked up ur life is at risk. If they don't fight they will get killed. And for your information I am living with it. I live with it everyday but people like you piss me off. Like u never made mistakes in ur life. No one is perfect.

[WA]

most of the comments on here are from people that have someone in prison , or have been in prison. It dosn't matter how they got there , the did a crime, and need to do there time . Drugs oh lets let them run the streets and sell drugs to everyone including , kids .. They are in there ,Muder ,assult, battery, robberies,rape, child molestation. assult with a deadly weapon, Gangs related crimes. Wake up there in there for more then getting caught with illegal drugs, if they are doing drugs illegally then they need to be in prison,for most of them it isn't there first rodeo.... remember the 3 strikes law.

[LADy BEE-Ru]

How dare you people say a thing like that! Yeah some are there in prison for a crime they need to be punished for, but never-the-less they are still human beings, my friend came across a girl that said some bad things about him to get herself out of trouble, he had no part of what she was doing! This girl has put a few people behind bars because of the lifestyle she lives, she gets a slap on the hands and the men end up in a place they don't belong! Just remember at any given moment your life can change, I know, I've seen it happen! So you better watch what you say!

[Kent Depner]

CR, NICE.

[God'schild]

is sad to read all the hurtful and ignorant comments some people wrote, obviously u dont know what you're talking about, not all the men that are in there deserve to be there, other people's lies put them in there, believe me when i tell you that a person(s) mouth can put you behind bars, the "detectives" are so easy at jumping the gun, they dont really check the history behind the person making the accusations, for all of you people that have never had the heart breaking experience of seeing a loved one going to prison for something he did not commit, consider yourselves blessed, but never forget that life as you know it can change at any given time, so pray for you and your loved ones to be safe from liers that wont hesitate to hurt you. And Shorty keep strong, and all of you that have a loved one in any of the CA prisons may God bless you and keep you.