At the West Valley Detention Center in San Bernardino County, gay, bisexual, and transgender (GBT) people are punished twice: first, for the crimes they allegedly committed and again, simply for being GBT. Unlike non-GBT inmates who are housed in dorms or are out of their cells most non-sleeping hours, GBT prisoners languish in an anachronistically dubbed “Alternative Lifestyle Tank.”
Here, they are kept in their cells for an average of 22 hours each day and are given no access to the center’s programs and facilities provided to non-GBT prisoners. They are prohibited from attending congressional prayer, and denied access to GED classes, rehabilitation programs and work opportunities — all because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The denials of education, work and rehabilitation are particularly galling, as participation in these programs can not only reduce the time they serve, but can also facilitate their integration back into society, reducing recidivism rates and the strain on our already overburdened criminal justice system.
Although in most instances WVDC staff have claimed that this harsh treatment is for their “protection,” protective custody and equal protection are not mutually exclusive. Jails and prisons cannot justify discriminatory treatment of LGBT prisoners under the guise of keeping them “safe.”
[For more of this story, written by Brendan Hamme, go to https://www.aclusocal.org/protection-punishment/]
Comments (0)