California State Prison At Lancaster

In the first organized protest against proposed new limits on rights long cherished by state prison inmates, about 1,000 convicts at the prison here have gone on strike over a rule that would sharply restrict conjugal visits, officials said Tuesday. The convicts, housed in one of the prison's maximum security blocks, have refused to come out of their cells since Sunday night for work, recreation, laundry or even meals, prison officials said.

To understand some of the problems facing California's prison system, which will be the subject of a special legislative session this summer, go to Lancaster. At the only state prison in Los Angeles County, a rehabilitation program that once won raves tottered on the brink of closure recently because of overcrowding.

Locked in the steel grip of a life sentence, David McCoy has seen the worst of prison life. Incarcerated since 1986, McCoy transferred through three prisons down the length of the state before landing in Lancaster. Along the way, he witnessed stabbings, shootings, beatings and various other bloody assaults between inmates. "I'd always worry about watching my back," he said. "It was stressful. I got my gray hairs from not knowing what each day was going to be like."

Two inmates have been slain over the last three weeks inside a cellblock at the Lancaster state prison, renewing concerns about overcrowding at the institution. The latest victim was found Tuesday morning, stuffed under the bottom bunk of his cell and wrapped in a bedsheet, said prison spokesman Ken Lewis. Richard Ponton, 36, also reportedly had a pillow over his face and a cardboard box shielding his body. "There was a significant amount of blood on the floor," Lewis said.

Jerald Garner starts the day by stirring a paddle the size of an oar through a 75-gallon vat of oatmeal. No one would ever accuse him of creating haute cuisine, but he can take comfort in the fact that he has a captive clientele. Garner is an inmate and cook at the California State Prison in Lancaster, where he helps prepare meals for 4,000 fellow prisoners daily.

Two correctional officers at the California State Prison in Lancaster have been suspended for their suspected involvement in plots to smuggle drugs into Los Angeles County's only maximum-security prison, officials said Monday. A third officer has also been suspended indefinitely after his off-duty arrest on a misdemeanor drug charge in February.

Under the gaze of a stately black bird and the rays of a sun hot enough to singe Lucifer, the rites of summer proceed without interruption. Handballs crash off walls, and sweaty palms swat them back again. A soccer ball floats through the air above the cacophony on the ground below. It could be a scene from summer camp; the players could be children, the chaperons seeking refuge in the shade could be counselors. But it's nothing like that.

In the sprawling tableau of the California budget crisis, it is a small but telling detail: The painting classes at Los Angeles County's maximum-security state prison are no longer taught by professional artists, but by two burly convicts serving hard time for second-degree murder. The art teachers who once instructed inmates at the state prison in Lancaster were sent packing in January, when the state quietly dismantled most of its Arts in Corrections program.

Two inmates have been slain over the last three weeks inside a cellblock at the Lancaster state prison, renewing concerns about overcrowding at the institution. The latest victim was found Tuesday morning, stuffed under the bottom bunk of his cell and wrapped in a bedsheet, said prison spokesman Ken Lewis. Richard Ponton, 36, also reportedly had a pillow over his face and a cardboard box shielding his body. "There was a significant amount of blood on the floor," Lewis said.

All of the black inmates in one of the four cellblocks at the state prison in Lancaster have been denied visitors for the last month, raising concerns about discrimination and civil rights violations as authorities investigate a bloody attack on three prison guards. Prison officials said visitation rights for more than 300 black inmates were halted Aug. 12 after the serious beating of three guards, including one who was stabbed in the head. Lt.

The warden at the state prison in Lancaster was removed from his job this week after officials learned that a sexually explicit comedy performance containing racially offensive material was presented to inmates earlier this year. Charles Michael Harrison was demoted to associate warden in the aftermath of the May 4 show after a guard complained to authorities in Sacramento. The whistleblower, Lt.

A California prison guard has won a $10-million judgment against two inmates who attacked him at the state prison in Lancaster -- a major victory for a group of guards that has taken up targeting violent inmates in civil court. The judgment was entered by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge this month after the two defendants -- Gregory P. Gaines and Harold X. Wesley -- failed to adequately file formal responses with the court, said R. Rex Parris, an attorney for prison guard Demond Blunt.

A state prison inmate in Lancaster who allegedly attacked guards before being subdued died after he was taken to a hospital, authorities said Saturday. The inmate, whose name was not released, bit and kicked the guards Friday, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Tania Plunkett. The correctional officers used pepper spray to defend themselves and then handcuffed him, she said.

An innovative program that seeks to reduce violence among maximum-security inmates is being severely tested at the state prison in Lancaster, where a population squeeze is forcing officials to house dangerous criminals with others who have vowed to remain peaceful. Since 2000, Lancaster's honor yard program has created a special housing area for prisoners who have promised to stay away from gangs, drugs and violence.

A state prison inmate is in stable condition at Antelope Valley Hospital on Monday after castrating himself, a prison official said. Elijah Handley, 28, who is serving 24 years for attempted murder, burglary and conspiracy to commit mayhem, maimed himself on Thursday in his cell, Lancaster prison spokesman Lt. Ken Lewis said. Prison investigators don't know why, Lewis said.

A 40-year-old visitor to the state prison in Lancaster died Saturday after collapsing in a visiting room, a prison spokesman said. Vernicia Harris of Pasadena was visiting her husband, an inmate, when she collapsed about 11 a.m., prison Lt. Ken Lewis said. Harris was taken to Antelope Valley Hospital where she was pronounced dead. The cause of death is under investigation.

A strike by 1,000 state prison inmates--who refused to leave their cells in protest of proposed restrictions on conjugal visits--ended peacefully Thursday morning, prison officials said. The maximum-security inmates, who launched the strike Sunday evening, finally left their cells to go to breakfast, said Dean Crenshaw, spokesman for the state prison at Lancaster. Some of the inmates had abandoned the strike earlier. "Everything's back to normal," Crenshaw said.

In the sprawling tableau of the California budget crisis, it is a small but telling detail: The painting classes at Los Angeles County's maximum-security state prison are no longer taught by professional artists, but by two burly convicts serving hard time for second-degree murder. The art teachers who once instructed inmates at the state prison in Lancaster were sent packing in January, when the state quietly dismantled most of its Arts in Corrections program.

Under pressure from state officials, Lancaster state prison has softened its controversial policy of locking inmates in their cells nearly 24 hours a day to reduce overtime costs. But all 32 state prisons are instituting less drastic cutbacks to reduce the projected $70-million cost overrun for the current fiscal year, a state Department of Corrections spokesman said Thursday.