Unprecedented class-action settlement reached in FCI Dublin women’s prison lawsuit alleging years of abuse and retaliation by guards

Attorneys for inmates formerly housed at the FCI Dublin federal women’s prison announced a historic settlement Friday afternoon with the Bureau of Prisons, one calling for widespread reforms and federally-monitored oversight of the care those inmates receive at facilities across the nation.

The proposed settlement marks an unprecedented end to a lawsuit filed last year alleging years of widespread sexual abuse and retaliation by guards at the scandal-plagued facility recently shuttered with no plans to reopen. Most notably, it plunges the Bureau of Prisons into a two-year monitoring program intended to protect those inmates from the same types of abuses perpetuated by an alleged “rape club” at the troubled Dublin prison.

The settlement still requires final approval by a judge, and inmates who raise concerns about the proposed settlement can do so at a hearing scheduled for Feb. 25.

Under the settlement agreement, the nearly 500 inmates who joined in the class-action lawsuit and who still remain incarcerated would be overseen by a federal monitor to ensure they are treated properly by the Bureau of Prisons. The inmates — currently housed at a dozen prisons across the United States — would receive numerous protections, including from being placed into solitary confinement as a form of retaliation for speaking out about conditions at their respective prisons.

To ensure that the reforms are implemented, the Bureau of Prisons would enter into a two-year consent decree that would be overseen by a federal judge.

In addition, the director of the Bureau of Prisons is expected to issue a formal public acknowledgment of the sexual abuse that happened at FCI Dublin, the site of a reputed “rape club” that saw eight former staff members, including a warden, criminally charged with myriad sex crimes. Several already have been convicted and imprisoned.

On Friday afternoon, an attorney for the inmates praised the agreement.

“Much more work is needed,” said Kara Janssen, an attorney representing inmates in the lawsuit. “Does this fix everything? No, it does not. But this is a huge step, and we are very proud of the work that our clients, our class members, and survivors, have done to get to this point to hold BOP accountable.”

“It’s the first step,” she added, “but it’s a big step.”

The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Attorneys for the inmates filed the lawsuit in August 2023, accusing prison managers of ignoring decades of warning signs and providing insufficient mental and physical health care. Yet even as the case wound its way through federal court, concerns at the prison persisted. In March, the FBI raided the facility, leading the agency to sack its current warden after less than three months on the job.

In April, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers appointed the first-ever special master to oversee a federal prison in the United States, suggesting that conditions there could “no longer be tolerated.” A week later, federal officials announced their intent to close the prison — leading to the transfer of more than 600 inmates to facilities across the nation. The closure drew strong criticism from that special master, who called it “unnecessarily rushed” with a lack of “methodical, planned and thoughtful” practices leading to “mass chaos.”

The special master also released a scathing report in August that found prison officials failed at nearly every turn to keep inmates safe.

“It is unconscionable that any correctional agency could allow incarcerated individuals under their control and responsibility to be subject to the conditions that existed at FCI Dublin for such an extended period of time without correction,” wrote the special master, Wendy Still, a former Alameda County chief probation officer. She stressed how her findings “are likely an indication of systemwide issues” throughout the country’s Bureau of Prisons, including facilities that now house former Dublin inmates, transferred there when the prison closed earlier this year.

Under the proposed settlement announced Friday, Still is expected to remain in her oversight role as the independent monitor in charge of overseeing the wellbeing of inmates who were transferred out of FCI Dublin, Janssen said.

The proposed settlement does not affect the more than 100 individual lawsuits that were brought by inmates alleging widespread abuse at the troubled prison; that litigation remains ongoing.

The proposal also would only oversee women who were class members of the original lawsuit filed last year, many of whom had remained housed at FCI Dublin when it was initially closed in April. Those inmates are now housed at 12 prisons across the nation, including facilities in Alabama, Minnesota, Connecticut, Texas and Washington.

While women housed at other prisons won’t be eligible for those same protections, inmate advocates are hopeful that they will still see improvements in their treatment by guards who will be facing extra scrutiny.

“Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity,” said Karla Padilla, 49, a member of the lawsuit who was housed at FCI Dublin for about 10 months. She was released in April shortly before the prison closed. “We hope it reaches everybody.”

Padilla expressed satisfaction with the settlement, suggesting that the reforms were past due.

“We hope that they’re able to rectify the situation that’s going on “across the federal prison system, Padilla said. “Anything at this point is better than what was happening at the prison.”