Critics Say Prisoner Transfers Punish Children and Families

The ruling by Judge Gail D. Ohanesian who acknowledged a "climate of peril" in the prisons comes as the state is under federal order to ease "dangerously" overcrowded conditions or face strict limits on new admissions. Eliminating the option could lead to some inmates being released early and other convicts being held at county jails.

In a statement, Gov. Schwarzenegger called the ruling "an unacceptable threat to public safety." "I will not release dangerous criminals to relieve overcrowding."

While families of inmates like James W. agree prison conditions warrant immediate action, many say the transfers punish the whole family.

"What about the inmate's families? What will become of their children?" asks Malisa Oliver of Rialto.

Oliver remembers the look on her 7-year-old cousin, Danen's face when he pressed his forehead against the inch thick window that separated him from his father James W. who is serving a 10 year sentence at the Chino Men's Prison for multiple nonviolent drug offenses. "He said, ‘Daddy, why are you leaving us'? He pounded on the glass petition with his fists and shouted, ‘it's not fair. You can't leave me'."

Oliver could only watch and wipe tears from Danen's eyes. "It's like a second death." Thirty-two-year old James W. is one of more than 400 inmates who volunteered to be transferred to out-of-state private facilities in Arizona, Oklahoma and Mississippi. James W. told family members conditions at the Chino prison are ‘dangerous, inhumane and shackle his hopes for rehabilitation'.

"He told us he sleeps in a triple bunk bed in the middle of a packed gym. He says he lies awake at night poised to defend himself against violent inmates. He says the place is a powder keg. He just wants to get the hell out of there," says Oliver.

James W. requested transfer after Gov. Schwarzenegger issued an emergency executive order authorizing voluntary and involuntary transfers.

Oliver said James W. viewed video tapes of the more favorable living conditions in out-of-state prisons. "In one videotape, a former California inmate boasts about having television selections that include ESPN."

"Up to half of all male children of prisoners will go on to commit crimes themselves, perpetuating a cycle that will feed the prison boom for generations to come," says Denise Johnson, head of the Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents.

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