Corcoran’s Shame

Reports of violence and cover-up at Corcoran State Prison have powerfully demonstrated the need for reform not just there but across California’s gargantuan correctional system.

With its shameful record of inmate shootings, Corcoran for a time was the deadliest prison in America. From 1989 to 1994, prison guards shot seven inmates to death in exercise yards and wounded 43 others. Inmate fights, some allegedly instigated by guards, became the excuse for some of these shootings. State investigations of brutality and violence at Corcoran over the years have resulted in only administrative discipline for a handful of guards and no state criminal charges.

Following Times reports, a panel of legislators convened oversight hearings. Originally scheduled for two days, the hearings lasted five, ending last week. In them, former Corcoran officers told tales of brutality and cover-up and lawmakers grilled former prison officials.

There’s no justification for the mess at Corcoran but plenty of blame to go around. State lawmakers, now frustrated and incredulous at bureaucrats who pleaded ignorance in the hearings, have themselves largely ignored the violence in a prison system that has doubled in size over the last decade. That system grew way too fast for proper control. In 1988, 17 prisons housed 72,000 inmates; now 33 institutions incarcerate 159,000 criminals. The prisons now house nearly double the number of inmates for which they were designed, and no new facilities are under construction.

While denying that he knew of the Corcoran shootings until years after they began, one former Department of Corrections chief testified that prison growth statewide had become “unmanageable.” Legislators anxious to remedy the problems at Corcoran should understand that what happened there could happen elsewhere.

Improving the caliber of California’s prison guards--now numbering 19,000, more than double the force in 1988--is essential. Tougher statewide standards are needed to weed out guard applicants prone to violence or unable to handle the stress of working in a crowded and dangerous environment. Those hired need more training--currently new recruits go through a six-week academy--and more extensive refresher training.

Top corrections officials who ignored Corcoran’s shootings should be called before hearings and should be fired if they are found culpable.

Vastly improved oversight for the sprawling correctional system must be a top priority, along with an independent agency to investigate specific complaints of violence or corruption. Bipartisan proposals are now circulating in Sacramento; we urge quick passage.