Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) is an American
women's California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is the penal law enforcement agency of the government of California responsible for the operation of the California state prison and parole systems. Its headquarters are in Sacra ...
state prison
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
located in
Chowchilla
The chowchilla (''Orthonyx spaldingii'') is a passerine bird in the family Orthonychidae. It is endemic to Australia.
Taxonomy
In their 1999 study, Schodde and Mason recognise two adjoining subspecies, ''O. s. spaldingii'' and ''O. s. melas ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. It is across the road from
Valley State Prison. CCWF is the second largest female correctional facility in the United States,
and houses the only State of California
death row
Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...
for women.
Facilities

CCWF covers . As of Fiscal Year 2006/2007, CCWF had a total of 1,205 staff and an annual operating budget of US$138 million.
As of April 30, 2020, CCWF was incarcerating people at 131.7% of its design capacity, with 2,640 occupants.
CCWF holds prisoners at all security levels:
* Reception Center (RC) – provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates
Level I through Level IV are all housed together inside a 32-room housing unit. There are 256 inmates of all levels housed together with two Correctional Officers. On the Reception Yard there are 276 inmates per housing unit of unclassified inmates supervised by two officers.
* Condemned (Cond) housing – holds inmates with death sentences
The prison provides inmate academic education, vocational training, counseling and specialized programs for the purpose of successful reintegration into society.[
The Center for Restorative Justice (CRJW) Family Express program, provides weekly transportation for family members from major California cities to visit prisoners at the facility.
]
History
The Madera County board of supervisors gave the prison its current name in 1989 "after months of discussion and disagreement". CCWF opened in October 1990, having cost $141 million to construct.
In 1996, the City of Chowchilla was given permission to perform a "non-contiguous annexation" of CCWF.
Starting in April 2007, CCWF received some inmates from California Rehabilitation Center
California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) is a state prison located in Norco, Riverside County, California. The prison is sometimes referenced as "Norco" or "Norco Prison".
Facilities
CRC has and is located next to the Naval Surface Warfare Ce ...
after closure of the women's wing at that prison. The population at CCWF "swelled by 8 percent".[
There have been controversies surrounding healthcare and health standards at the CCWF over the years. Including but not limited to the following events:
* In June 1991, an inmate died; some inmates "refused to report to their prison jobs" to protest the prison's medical care "which they said was linked to the death". Later, an autopsy was conducted to show that the inmate "died of acute inflammation of the pancreas," not "an overdose of the tranquilizer Haldol" as some inmates believed.
* Over 100 protesters outside the prison in January 1994 alleged that CCWF "failed to provide a medical specialist and educational programs to deal with HIV/AIDS-infected inmates," and that CCWF's healthcare providers "often ignore inmate ailments and provide little or no follow-up examinations".
* An April 1995 ]class action
A class action is a form of lawsuit.
Class Action may also refer to:
* ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
* Class Action (band), a garage house band
* "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...
lawsuit against CCWF and California Institution for Women
California Institution for Women (CIW) is an American women's state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County, California, east of Los Angeles, although the mailing address states " Corona," which is in Riverside County, Calif ...
"allege that inmates suffer terribly and in some cases die because of inadequate medical care". A 1997 settlement agreement led to two reports showing "improvements" in health care for female prisoners, but plaintiffs' lawyers claimed that "the changes deal mostly with medical records, not actual care."
* From July to November 1996, a private laboratory billed CCWF $161,000 "for thousands of medical tests, including Pap smears to detect cervical cancer, HIV tests, biopsies and urinalyses" even though the tests had never been used on the inmates. At least six other prisons also used the laboratory.[ Although the State of California closed the laboratory in 1997, a 2000 newspaper investigation found that there was "little evidence of any attempt by the California Department of Corrections to retest inmates or notify them that their test results were faked".][
* In 1999, an inmate with "]hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...
and liver disease" died after being "prescribed anti-TB medications known to be toxic to patients with liver disease". A wrongful-death lawsuit based on the case was "settled for $225,000" in 2002.[
* In the "month and a half" prior to December 20, 2000, seven CCWF inmates died.] Of these, four "apparently succumbed to chronic terminal illnesses," but an advocacy group claimed that the deaths "were precipitated by inadequate care".[ The other three "died suddenly and unexpectedly," which led to ]autopsies
An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; ...
being performed.[ As a result, the three causes of death were determined to be "heart problems and natural causes," "a severe asthma attack and chok ngon her vomit after a routine strip search," and "clogged arteries and an enlarged heart".] Nevertheless, "relatives of the three women" and a physician from the University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...
"who reviewed their deaths" held the opinion that "better health care could have saved their lives".[
* A ]hospice
Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...
program was started at CCWF in the summer of 2000, but by mid-2001 was "seldom" used. One possible explanation was a low amount of funding compared with the men's hospice at California Medical Facility
California Medical Facility (CMF) is a male-only state prison medical facility located in the city of Vacaville in Solano County, California. It is older than California State Prison, Solano, the other state prison in Vacaville.
Facilities
...
; another possible explanation was CCWF's granting "compassionate releases to dying inmates who otherwise might enter the program".[
* In December 2003, seven CCWF inmates sued seven physicians and "several nurses" for "malpractice, negligence and unprofessional conduct".]
* In February 2007, the California Office of the Inspector General concluded "Numerous studies show that despite an annual cost of $36 million, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s in-prison substance abuse treatment programs have little or no impact on recidivism
Recidivism (; from 'recurring', derived from 'again' and 'to fall') is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to Extinction (psycholo ...
." The report specifically mentioned the "New Choice female felon program" at CCWF, for which "12-month recidivism rates... were lower for non-participants than for participants."[
]
Employees
As of 2007, of the prison guards, 31% were women. 19% of sergeants were women, and less than 1% of lieutenants are women.
Notable inmates
Death row
After Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Pete Wilson
Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Wilson previously served as a United S ...
decreed in December 1991 that CCWF shall hold all female death row
Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...
inmates in California, Maureen McDermott became the first death row inmate at CCWF. She was the first woman sentenced to death in a period of several decades, and at one period, she was the only person in the unit. Initially a set of nine cells in the 504 building, a two-story building for difficult to manage and maximum security prisoners, served as the women's death row.
The death row inmates' names (with years of sentencing) are:
* Rosie Alfaro (sentenced 1992)
* Socorro Caro (2002)
* Celeste Simone Carrington (1994)
* Cynthia Coffman (1989)
* Kerry Lyn Dalton (1995)
* Skylar Preciosa Deleon (2010)
* Veronica Gonzales (1998)
* Jessica Marie Hann (2014)
* Lorraine Hunter (2018)
* Cherie Lash-Rhoades (2018)
* Belinda Magana (2015)
* Valerie Dee Martin (2010)
* Maureen McDermott (1990)
* Michelle Lyn Michaud (2002)
* Tanya Nelson (2010)
* Angelina Rodriguez (2004)
* Brooke Rottiers (2010)
* Cathy Lynn Sarinana (2009)
* Janeen Marie Snyder (2006)
* Manling Tsang Williams () (2011)
Current and former inmates
* Jeena Han, was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison for attempted murder and false imprisonment of her twin sister Sunny Han to assume her identity and leave the country. She was released on parole in May 2018.
* Nikki Charm
Shannon Eaves, known professionally as Nikki Charm, is an American pornographic film actor. She is a member of the Adult Video News Hall of Fame and the XRCO Hall of Fame.
Between 1984 and 1990, Charm appeared in nearly 50 videos and was a con ...
, porn star, for auto theft and burglary. Sentenced for five years in 2002.
* Helen L. Golay, whose crimes committed in 1999 and 2005 in Los Angeles County became known as Black Widow murders. She is serving life in prison without possibility of parole.
* Jennifer Lynn Henderson, aka Jennifer DeLeon, convicted in 2006, serving two consecutive sentences of life without parole for the Murder of Thomas and Jackie Hawks, a retired couple killed as part of a conspiracy to steal their yacht and bank accounts.
* Marjorie Knoller was released from CCWF and sent to Ventura County
Ventura County () is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.
Ventura County comprises ...
on parole in January 2004. She had reportedly just served "about 16 months" at Valley State Prison for Women.
*Sara Kruzan
Sara Jessimy Kruzan (born January 8, 1978) is an American activist and survivor of child sex trafficking. In 1995, at the age of 17, she was convicted of the first-degree murder of her trafficker, George Gilbert Howard, who began to groom her fo ...
is a victim of human trafficking
Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
and a convicted murderer. In 1994, at the age of 16, she was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole after being convicted of murdering her pimp
Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...
; in January 2011, outgoing governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
commuted her sentence to 25 years to life with the possibility of parole. In January 2013, her conviction was reduced to 2nd degree manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
and her sentence to 19 years, making her eligible for parole. A parole hearing was conducted June 12, 2013; she was found suitable for parole and released on October 31, 2013.
* Omaima Nelson, an Egyptian woman who castrated and murdered her husband, dismembered his body and cooked his body parts, allegedly consuming his ribs. She was later transferred at California Institution for Women
California Institution for Women (CIW) is an American women's state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County, California, east of Los Angeles, although the mailing address states " Corona," which is in Riverside County, Calif ...
.
* Ellie Nesler was first imprisoned at CCWF for a 10-year sentence beginning in January 1994. During her stay, she received treatment for breast cancer
Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
. She was released in October 1997 after a plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...
. She was again at CCWF between 2002 and June 2006 to "serve a sentence for selling drugs."
* Catherine Kieu, convicted in 2013 for spousal abuse and false imprisonment, including mutilating her husband's genitals.
*Kristin Rossum
Kristin Margrethe Rossum (born October 25, 1976) is an American former toxicologist who was convicted of the murder of her husband Gregory T. de Villers, who died from a lethal dose of fentanyl on November 6, 2000. Rossum is serving a life senten ...
, currently serving a life sentence in California for poisoning her husband Greg deVillers with fentanyl
Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic piperidine opioid primarily used as an analgesic (pain medication). It is 30 to 50 times more Potency (pharmacology), potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary Medici ...
she stole from her job and attempting to pass off his death as a suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
, made famous from the crime show Snapped
''Snapped'' is an American true crime television series produced by Jupiter Entertainment which depicts high profile or bizarre cases of women accused of murder. Each episode outlines the motivation for murder, whether it be revenge against a ...
as well as other media.
*Judy Wong, former mayor and first Chinese-American councilmember from the City of Temple City, California
Temple City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California located northeast of downtown Los Angeles and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. Temple City is part of a cluster of cities, along with Pasadena, Cal ...
. Pleaded no-contest to corruption charges and accepted a prison sentence for her role in a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving developers. Released from prison May 17, 2011.
*Dorothy Maraglino, one of three people convicted in the 2012 murder of Brittany Killgore.
*Nancy Garrido, who kidnapped Jaycee Dugard in 1991. She is serving 36 years to life imprisonment.
* Dana Sue Gray, convicted of killing three elderly women in 1994. Gray was sentenced on October 16, 1998, and is serving life without the possibility of parole.
* Nanette Ann Packard, convicted of ordering Eric Naposki to murder Bill McLaughlin.
* Larissa Schuster, sentenced to life in prison without parole for submerging her husband's body in hydrochloric acid.
* Melissa Huckaby, sentenced to life without parole for murdering 8 year old Sandra Cantu.
* Julia Rodriquez Diaz, first female inmate to receive 15 years parole denial under Proposition 9, also known as Marsy's Law
Marsy's Law, the California Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008, enacted by voters as Proposition 9 through the initiative process in the November 2008 general election, is an amendment to the state's constitution and certain penal code sectio ...
. Convicted in July 1979 for the murder of 7-year-old boy, Javier Angel. Featured in a 2013 episode of Deadly Women
''Deadly Women'' is an American true crime documentary television series produced by Beyond International Group and airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) Television, network.
The series focuses on murders committed by women. It is hosted ...
entitled "Heartless Souls"
* Louise Turpin, sentenced to life with 25 years before parole along with her husband David for holding 12 of their 13 children captive, during which time they were abused, starved and tortured
* Suzan Carson, convicted serial killer serving 75 years to life for the murder of three people.
* Pearl Fernandez, sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the torture and murder of her son Gabriel.
* Diane Downs, convicted of murdering her 1 of her children and attempted murder of the other two, serving life plus 50 years.
* Tylar Witt, convicted in 2011 for the 2009 murder of her mother, Joanne Witt, and sentenced to 15 years to life
* Susan Eubanks, convicted in 1999 for murdering her four sons. She then attempted suicide. Was originally sentenced to death but was granted clemency and re-sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in October 2024.
Deceased
* Susan Atkins
Susan Denise Atkins (May 7, 1948 – September 24, 2009) was an American convicted murderer who was a member of Charles Manson's "Family". Manson's followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in California over a period ...
, an associate of Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal, cult leader, and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some cult members committed a Manson ...
, was transferred to CCWF on September 24, 2008, with a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. She died at CCWF on September 24, 2009.
*Dorothea Puente
Dorothea Helen Puente (; January 9, 1929 – March 27, 2011) was an American convicted serial killer. In the 1980s, she ran a boarding house in Sacramento, California, and murdered various elderly and mentally disabled boarders before cashing th ...
"was convicted in 1993 on five counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole" at CCWF. She died at CCWF in March 2011.
See also
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1990 establishments in California
Buildings and structures in Madera County, California
Capital punishment in California
Women's prisons in California
Chowchilla, California
Prisons completed in the 1990s