Month: February 2022

One lady at Washington County Jail had her grandmother’s ring come up missing from her property. The value was over $10,000. Just because ladies are in jail or prison doesn’t mean that staff can steal from them. I had mentioned two others previously that had large amounts stolen from them, not to mention lost wages from ladies who are falsely imprisoned.

A lady from CCCF was beat up by another lady because she was blamed for a crime that she didn’t do and has spent 6 or 7 years already in prison. She is currently having her injuries assessed and filing a no-contact order against the other lady.

They continue to serve us spoiled milk and food. One lady got food poisoning and they placed her in isolation for two weeks. There is no need for her to be isolated for that long from her friends and support network. At that point it can be considered punishment. Being punished for something that is the facility’s fault is wrong.

In Washington County Jail, when ladies were given lice from the facility they were also placed in isolation for over a month. Once lady was forced to sit with the lice shampoo in her hair for two hours when the label said not to leave it in for more than 20 minutes. One lady in the facility said that at that point, the lice shampoo can be considered poison in the system.

One lady had her arm damaged from use of force from officers upon her arrest. She was held at Washington County Jail for two years and her arm was never treated. Her muscles atrophied and the injury turned into something worse because of the jail. She is now at CCCF where her injuries are most likely still not being treated

At CCCF many ladies weren’t reporting that they had contracted Covid because the prison is punishing them for that by placing them in isolation for long periods of time and removing them from their friends and support network. Facilities should not be punishing people for getting sick. There are deaths that can happen with Covid or food poisoning and some people really need medical treatment.

On top of that, we have a lady her at CCCF who never tested positive for Covid but was placed in a Covid isolation unit. She is also considered a high-risk person. Just because people are in prison doesn’t mean they can be treated like animals.

It has been said that liberty and mercy go hand in hand. We had a police officer slam a girl’s face hard into the wall for dropping a tray in County Jail. She never filed a lawsuit, but this officer did get a lawsuit filed by another Adult in Custody (AIC). Another woman here was attacked by a police officer for taking too long in a public bathroom. She showed me the scar she got from the force he used with the handcuffs during her arrest. The officer did not press charges against her but the District Attorney did. They said she assaulted a police officer. I suspect that the DA’s in these types of cases pursue them just to make money, which is very sad because I know this lady has a young daughter and she would be much better off raising her daughter than spending time in prison.

While I was in Washington County Jail awaiting trial the Jail was under investigation for the use of force. I witnessed many examples of this and I am anxiously awaiting to hear the results, as I myself experienced this as well. There was also psychological and mental abuse for many of the ladies. I think a class action lawsuit in needed. Most women here have experienced long term hunger on some level, as have I. So when I see officials throwing away large quantities of food I think that is a form of psychological torture and abuse. Women should not be limited to one small portion of food, as many of them need more than that and do not have extra commissary money to buy more food.

There is a former police officer in prison here who previously repeatedly strangled his girlfriends and actually killed one of them. He is currently up to have his case dropped. Why is this excessive violence accepted by our society and the legal system? My abusive ex-husband also went on to become a police officer. I would like to know why policing and violence seem to go hand in hand.

There should be a system of checks and balances for the DA so they cannot randomly pursue petty or false cases for extra pay. These are lives we are talking about here, not just numbers. Many of the women I am meeting here also have young children or families to support and they deserve justice. I think many of these women would forego legal action if they were just treated with respect as human beings.

The fact that jail and prison are businesses explains why they can’t contain the pressure of covid, lawsuits, and false arrests and charges. They are both dealing with staff shortages and are not able to handle the influx of new adults in custody. I’ve mentioned before examples of many false arrests and charges and I have to say that the truth eventually comes out.

It’s a conflict of interest that Washington County Jail itself posts bails instead of another privately owned business. Maybe this is why they have so many petty arrests and false charges. Also, wouldn’t it be conspiracy to commit murder when they force someone to detox from opioids cold turkey, refuse to send medical aid during an emergency, throw someone down on their head, starve people, and then punish them for trying to get water? How about kidnapping someone and taking them out of state and doing these things. I don’t think that taking a vehicle away from two elderly people that have terminal illness is serving and protecting either.

I proposed that people with extended education, experience, and qualifications be utilized in prisons. For instance, the jails and prisons are highly understaffed for qualified health care workers and if people housed wish to be able to continue work in this field, they should be allowed to practice. Also, the men’s prison has prisoners who have become lawyers working there, as well as an automotive department. Why not the female prison? There are many people in the cannabis and a program with CBD (not THC) plants would be very helpful to prisoners dealing with pain issue and anxiety. CBD has no psychoactive effects but is proven very effective in controlling pain, anxiety, migraines, fibromyalgia and epilepsy as well, and may people would benefit with this natural remedy with no side effects. Rick Simpson’s oil can also be made which has been proven in some cases to cure cancer. I really think prisoners would a lot happier and stay out of trouble more if they were doing something constructive that they enjoyed and were interested in.

We have heard about another woman being threatened and bullied by the system to take a plea deal for something that she agreed was wrong but she also had to take responsibility for another crime that she didn’t do. She can also prove that she didn’t do this crime and because she had to register as a sex offender she is now being bullied and threatened by other prisoners as well. On top of that, she has a roommate that has a lot of anxiety and even with a background as a counselor, she is not able to calm her roommate down.

The prison supposedly gives out radios to ladies experiencing things like this but many of us who need one have not been given one. This is also another example of a job that can be utilized in prison as this lady has extensive schooling and experience as a counselor and if she was able to continue working with that here, it might help the prison’s understaffed counseling department. Also, in helping someone with their issues, our own seem to dissipate as well, and a sense of purpose in jail and prison is paramount to keeping one’s spirits up and helping time go by faster. This particular lady might also have an opportunity to earn more respect from the other ladies that have been threatening and bullying her.

Many of us who have not been through the system before agree that there needs to be some sort of guidance and often the public defenders and even paid lawyers really only care about making a paycheck, so there’s a big mistake in thinking that they have our best interests in mind. By the time we realize this, it’s too late and we have already been convicted. One lady doesn’t even understand why she’s here and several others can’t figure it out either. We’ve asked for help from prison staff counselors and gotten no explanation. Perhaps that’s a conflict of interest as well as the prison gives them their paycheck, so why should, they care? Not a very good counselor if you ask me.

I have been kidnapped here (Copper Creek Correctional Facility). I have not done what I have been accused of. By definition this is human trafficking. They have taken me from Seattle to Oregon, where I don’t have any friends or family. I signed an extradition order because a public defender in Seattle coerced me to do so. I was mentally and physically abused by staff at Washington County Jail for almost 2 years prior to trial. When I received 2 black eyes they placed me in isolation and did not allow me to call anyone, not even my public defender attorney. In Snohomish County in the State of Washington, where I was first arrested, the police searched and took my vehicle without a warrant. This fact was not allowed by the judge to be presented at my trial in Oregon. I have elderly parents with terminal illnesses on the East Coast who have depended on me financially, emotionally and physically and I have now been held against my will for almost three years in Oregon. I have written to the Snohomish County police about the whereabouts of my vehicle because my parents really need a vehicle, but I have received no response.

While in the Washington County Jail awaiting trial, I begged my public defender attorneys in Oregon to get me released on bail after I had not eaten in over two months, but instead they said “no” and continued to try to bully me into admitting to crimes that I did not commit. I was never offered bail even though I have no previous criminal history. I was then convicted at trial to second degree murder, on circumstantial evidence, by a jury that deliberated for less than 3 hours. They had no physical evidence placing me at the scene of the crime. In the absence of physical evidence the judge allowed the prosecutor to smear by character in front of the jury over the objections of my attorneys. They also convicted me of unlawful use of a firearm, when I have never even owned a firearm and they did not produce a firearm at trial.

I am here at CCCF and I need to be released with all of my charges dropped. I have not been able to talk to my parents for close to a month now and I need to find out if they are OK. I have been trying to send them some money from here so they can continue to pay their mortgage and bills, but I don’t have any way to send it. If anyone can help I would be most grateful as I have been relying on the kindness of my friends. Any extra will go to help other victims of the system here who don’t have any outside help at all.

A lot of ladies here have not even tried to contact family and friends and I have to say I understand. The judgementalism I received from mine is painful, but I forgive them and am grateful we have communication. There is such a negative connotation for people in jail and prison but I have met some incredible people and have learned a lot from them My time serving in the military (4 years with honorable discharge) has thankfully prepared me for all of this in some ways but not all of the judgementalism.

My family and friends are slowly coming around though, and I have great respect and admiration for those that have been with me through all of this. I have also been trying to contact ladies I’ve met in Washington County Jail as there is a lot of denial of the abuse that happened there. I say this because I have experienced it myself sometimes but leaving someone locked in a shower stall naked for hours is abuse. Also a lot of the girls there were dealing with drug withdrawal symptoms, which can be quite painful, especially with opioids. It can also be dangerous for someone to go through cold turkey and I talked to several ladies that were forced to do this. Another symptom of withdrawal from opioids is diarrhea and one lady told me they left her locked in a legal visit booth for about an hour and she soiled her clothes, then had to sit in it. Everyone in that jail had to deal with some form of of abuse like this while I was there and it would help us all to heal from it to be able to talk about it without fear of retribution from them recording all of our conversations. I should not have allowed the medical staff to give me a pap smear as it was very painful and made me bleed. I hope they didn’t damage anything inside of me.

Since I’ve been incarcerated, I’ve lost my grandmother, my brother, and I just found out that my mother has terminal leukemia. This gives me new motivation to help other ladies to stay in touch with their families. It is so important here.

There was a lady in Washington County Jail that had cancer and they were treating her. I remember her going around in a wheelchair there. From what I understand, Washington County Jail is one of the biggest money-makers in the area and many ladies heard them brag about how much money they make there. Shouldn’t their financial records be audited to find out why they are not spending enough money on medical care for people there?

I’ve also been told they have a 98% conviction rate but according to the other ladies I’ve talked to, most of those convictions are either false or unfair. We’ve walked though intake and seen someone obviously very high on some kind of drug, and a deputy said that sometimes they take videos of that kind of thing and show the kids to deter them from doing drugs, but that’s highly disrespectful to the person’s human rights. One lady said she waited 16 hours in intake to be booked into the jail.

I’ve been told the reason the commissary prices are so inflated there is because there is a supply company that has a monopoly on the market because they give the Washington County police department a large “donation”. Why are these things not being investigated? We were paying almost double the price in there for commissary and most people in jail can’t afford that. They get away with it because the ladies need to contact family and friends or to buy extra food. (food would be withheld as punishment there)

In my eyes, the scales are tipped way in favor of the jails and the system needs to be exposed for what it really is: modern day slavery and human trafficking. As long as the ones exploiting the ladies are making a profit, the abuse will continue… from the judges and public defenders to to the incompetent medical staff and deputies. One lady said she was placed in the very same choke hold as George Floyd when she was arrested. Why are body cams not being used here. There needs to be an accountability enforced within the system so the abuse can stop. It’s sure not going to take policing to enforce that. It has to start with everyday people like you and me, and like the young lady that recorded George Floyd’s death. Our lives depend on it and the lives of our sons and daughters as well.

It’s very concerning the way suicide and self-harm are treated in jail and prison. We saw a girl forced by an officer to claim self-harm in order to be allowed to talk to mental health staff. We also saw a girl try to jump from from a second story balcony to get attention. One person succeeded with this.

It’s alarming the amount of ladies in here that have scars from cutting on their arms and legs. One lady showed me her stitches and said she was thinking about cutting it again. It’s especially difficult to see this once a person has become friends with a lady that cuts.

Once a suicide attempt is made or claimed, the lady is removed from all of her friends and support systems. All of their belongings are also taken away. This is also done when a lady is moved to the isolation unit. This seems like a very uncompassionate thing to do to someone that is suicidal or depressed. Sometimes they are not even allowed to wear clothes and wear a “turtle suit” which is very humiliating.

At Washington County Jail, the deputies would also call them names. One lady was sexually assaulted while handcuffed and they also put her mask over her eyes. Deputies would give special treatment to certain ladies that would flirt with them and the ones that didn’t were punished for things they didn’t do or for made up things. Intimidation, threats, and harassment are a constant problem with the deputies. They would often take meals away from ladies as punishment.

Medical staff would threaten and intimidate ladies who were trying to get medication. Medical staff would also force ladies to take medication they didn’t want or were allergic to. At trials, they allowed victim’s families to humiliate ladies who were convicted of crimes they didn’t commit. One lady had handcuffs stuck on her during trial and they cut them off with bolt cutters. If ladies had friends or family present at trial, the deputies would intimidate them as well. One person came all the way across the country to attend a trial and they embarrassed him so badly he flew home the next day.

Visits from friends or family were often denied for no reason and sometimes even legal visits. Legal mail was opened and read by the deputies before it was given to the lady. One lady had thousands of dollars stolen from her bank account and they wouldn’t allow her to call the bank.

Ladies in isolation were not allowed toothbrushes, sometimes for months at a time. Deputies often refused to send mail out. Spoiled milk was served and ladies got food poisoning. Ladies were forced to get on a scale in front of everyone. We still have no word on the investigation of Washington County Jail taking place but we really hope it’s a thorough one.

As I continue my time at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) on false charges, I am accumulating evidence that the State of Oregon is prejudiced against women. In both jail and prison we are told to wear clothing that is designed to humiliate us and we are punished if we refuse or don’t wear our clothes “properly”.

In Washington County Jail (where I was held without bail for almost 2 years before trial) the uniform literally looked like a clown suit, complete with orange shoes that were too big for us because “they only come in whole sizes.” The top was bright orange with short sleeves, while the bottoms were green and white striped with absolutely no shape. Keep in mind that they always kept the air conditioning on even in winter and if we wanted long sleeves we had to pay $20 at the commissary. I personally lost 30 pounds from 120 pounds, so it was quite necessary for me, and I was not the only very thin woman there. They would often take sweatshirts away from us as punishment or just because they felt like it.

In CCCF we are forced to wear men’s clothes that don’t fit us properly. We feel gender dysmorphia because of this. It is especially humiliating for a man who identifies as a woman or for men who have had an operation to become a woman.

In both jail and prison they invent and enforce petty rules to abuse us. There is a woman here who was sent to isolation, with loss of privileges for a month for expressing herself with her uniform. Another woman here was given the same punishment for false charges. Acts like these infringe on our rights as women. We wager that these things would not be happening in a men’s prison. They take advantage of the fact that we are women by punishing us more because they are banking on us not pushing back. The whole thing is set up like an abusive relationship, especially since there is no self-defense law here in Oregon. There are countless women in this prison who have fought back after years of being in an abusive marriage or relationship. We are often treated as second class citizens and as if we do not matter. This has been especially true during COVID, where we have all been exposed and even punished for things that are out of our control. They have gotten away with abusing women here for so long it is time we all stood up for our rights and put a stop to being exploited for profit here. We have even had sexual assaults swept under the rug here.

President Biden has proposed a law to do away with privately owned for profit detention centers, but as a person in here with false charges I feel that all detention centers are just out to make a profit. I am not the only one in with false charges either. Even the public defenders and judges are in it for the money and don’t care what is going on. They should allocate some of the money they make from us to put towards more doctors and medical care, because a lot of people here are suffering. We still see them throwing away trays of food in the kitchen, and they only serve us small portions. There are women here with no commissary money and if I try to give one of them an extra piece of cake I am punished. There is something terribly wrong with this system and I can’t believe no one is trying to do anything about it.

In addition to being forced to wear the clownish attire and the men’s clothing, we are also forced to wear clothes that are way too big for us. Personally, I am very small and I wear either extra small or a zero in clothing size. But when we check in here at the facilities the smallest size they would give me is a medium. They also give us large bright red shorts to add to the subliminal abuse we receive here … referring us to clowns once again.

The disorganized atmosphere during COVID has been especially hard on the women who have been institutionalized by spending many years incarcerated. They get a sense of security taken away when their routine is disrupted and this actually handicaps them. More empathy needs to be given to them, as their lives have been turned upside down from all the moving, isolation, and loss of time out of their cells.

We have a woman here serving a very long sentence because her ex-boyfriend downloaded child porn onto her computer without her knowledge, and she was blamed for the crimes. This brings us back to the State of Oregon being prejudiced against women. This particular lady has never been in trouble with the law and is quite successful on the outside. The fact that the man who actually committed this crime is still free to continue his crimes is highly unjust and dangerous. Also, some of the other women in the prison are judgmental to her, which is very disheartening and I pray she gets the justice she deserves during appeals, or get her charges dropped. This is also further evidence that the State is more concerned with exploiting women for money than it is with actually prosecuting the real criminals. In my case, the officer in charge of my arrest admitted on record that he thought I was someone else, yet I was still found guilty by the jury and given life sentence. I think if the general public was educated a little more on the judicial system they would be able to fulfill their moral obligation a little better. People need to realize that not everyone in prison is guilty of the crimes they are accused of and we need to do something about our broken system and laws, to minimize these injustices.

We have a man here in CCCF who has a pattern of strangling women and succeeded once that we know of. Still, he is currently up to have his case overturned. This is a prime example of the State of Oregon being prejudiced towards women, as I am in here for a life sentence with no previous criminal history, no evidence of my crime, no witnesses, no motive, and I was not even found in the area of my charged crime. The fact that this man used to be a police officer might have something to do with why he has been put in a female prison, but it does not seem right to me. He has been accepted into the “puppy” program here, yet the woman who was blamed for her ex-boyfriend’s crime of child pornography is not allowed into the puppy program. This is extremely unfair. A second look needs to be taken at things going on here at CCCF.

I am an “Adult in Custody” at Copper Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) and previously held at Washington County Jail, both in Oregon. The treatment many of us here receive from friends, family and the general public while at CCCF and in Jail is something I would have expected in a previous Century with the amount of prejudice and stigma I have witnessed. It is heart breaking because we have people here as a result of false charges and I believe that is unconstitutional.

The medical care is non-existent during this time of COVID, which is inconsistent with human decency. This needs to be addressed. We have people here that had paid taxes their whole lives and to have to come here and suffer with painful injuries, some caused by the prison or jail, is unconstitutional. We have people who did not test positive for COVID sitting in isolation as well, which should not be happening. There have also been lawsuits filed against the prison for exposure to COVID and they have won.

Our rights to counsel, a fair trial, right to remain silent, freedom of speech and freedom of religion need to be respected, and the punishments, threats, harassment, micro-management, slave labor wages and discrimination need to stop. More education needs to be provided, as we have some very intelligent people here doing menial jobs, which is a total waste of brain power and makes no sense. Also, people with extensive schooling in the medical field and others should still be able to work, as the system has people who have been falsely accused and the some women take false charges just so they can go back to their families. That is no reason to throw a lifetime of education and experience away or tell people they cannot work in their field of study. Corrections officers and deputies should be required to have more education and training for dealing with people with people with mental illness, medial disabilities and the elderly to improve understanding and compassion for these people and others.

There should be more respect for people’s personal property in jail and the inflated commissary prices need to stop. If people are going to be isolated, they need to have books, magazines or electronics available and allowed more access to phone calls and showers.

I have also seen so much food waste here and yet the staff is still dolling out minimal servings or none at all. With the amount of food being thrown away here, no one should be going hungry.

Here at CCCF there have been lawsuits fought and won against the Facility for exposure to COVID. There has been a general disorganization here and people who didn’t even test positive have been isolated for months, which feels more like for punishment reasons due to lack of social interaction. At the same time we have been moved into a former COVID isolation unit and it was obvious the cell was not cleaned (and my roommate is not vaccinated). All the orderlies assigned to cleaning empty cells have been put at risk. The masks we are given here are not medical grade and not consistent with masks specified by the Governor of the State. My unvaccinated roommate works in the Clinic and is exposed to everyone in the prison. She is also forced by her supervisor to stay extra hours on her job when her work is finished. We also have people here who are hiding their COVID because they do not want to be isolated. I am wondering if we should file a Class Action lawsuit against the prison. Anyone with information or advice on these matters, please respond. Our health and safety in not being properly taken into consideration here.

Sincerely yours,

An AIC at CCCF

I am an Adult in Custody in Oregon. In my previous letter, written after one month in the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) in Wilsonville, I set out to call attention to gender bias in the State of Oregon Judicial System. Now, after an additional month, I am calling further attention to the prejudice against women by comparing my case to others I have met at CCCF.

Nikki Cantu, who is currently having her baby in prison, was sentenced for exercising her right to remain silent. She witnessed a crime and felt she would be in danger, along with her unborn child, if she testified. In my case, I was repeatedly punished and threatened while in lengthy (almost 2 years) pretrial confinement at Washington County Jail for exercising my right to remain silent. The fact that the State would not protect Nikki and her unborn child is bad enough, but they also punished her by sending her to prison while pregnant and having her give birth in prison. My heart goes out to her.

Danyelle Lore had no previous driving without a license charges and her husband had three or four. She was sentenced to fourteen months in prison, while he received only eleven months. In my case, I had no criminal history and was given a life sentence while male suspects in my case were not even questioned or detained. One of them had an extensive criminal history and is a known gang member. He even talked about crimes on the phone with me while I have been incarcerated and kept several guns in his home.

Rose Provost was coerced out of $1000 worth of personal property while in jail; my public defender coerced my out of my vehicle. The police never had a warrant to seize my vehicle, but they took it anyway. My defense attorney objected the warrantless action of the police before trial but the judge in my case sided with the prosecution. I have elderly parents with terminal illnesses that need a vehicle right now, but the vehicle is gone. I have also been trying to support my parents financially since I have been incarcerated (2 years now), mostly at Washington County Jail. But the Jail officials, who kept it very cold there, kept taking sweaters from me that I had to keep replacing at the commissary at inflated prices. I also lost a lot of weight while there.

Karen Nichols was given a maximum sentence for a crime that was unintentional, while I was given a life sentence for second degree murder even though I was not even shown to be at the scene of the crime. I was also convicted of unlawful use of a firearm even though I never had a firearm and none was produced at my trial and they did not even check the homes of other potential male suspects.

I am concerned about how little, if any, consideration is given in Oregon to self defense in cases involving women. I have heard from several women who received maximum sentences after enduring years of physical and mental abuse from men. In my case, some members of my own family believed my abuser over me when he slandered me to family members, friends, and the District Attorney. The judge at trial then allowed the DA to slander me in front of the jury with no proof. They all believed hearsay and accusations of an ex-boyfriend who I had not seen or talked to for approximately five years before I was arrested. They all believed him over me, even though he had at one time made an attempt on my life.

All of the women I have mentioned above and I have family that need us right now and these false charges are causing our families to suffer as well. Women are normally caretakers of family. Oregon laws need to change and discrimination against women needs to stop.

I’m especially very concerned about the elderly adults in custody. First of all, they need more medical care and the facility just is not equipped to handle that, especially with COVID still going on. When they are sent out of the facility for a much needed procedure they are placed in isolation afterwards, which requires a lot of extra effort for them to move, especially if they have been here awhile and have accumulated a lot of things. It is also very traumatic for them to be separated from their friends and often they are not brought back to their previous unit after being isolated. The isolation feels more like punishment to them at this point.

The CCCF says we are not allowed to mix units, which restricts our work hours and most of us really need the very little money we make from working here. Then they move random people into and out of our unit to and from other units, which contradicts the safety precautions we are supposed to be taking. Also, we are not given the medical grade masks the governor said are essential, which might explain why we have so many COVID cases here. There is also discrimination against people who are not vaccinated. One lady was forced to stay at her job in the clinic, putting her at even more risk for COVID. At CCCF we also have many cases of serious injuries from the bunk beds in our rooms and the stairs in our units. The bunk beds are not even OSHA standard regulation.

But I am most concerned about my elderly parents with terminal illnesses, who depend on me emotionally and physically, while I am serving prison time on false charges. When I was moved from Washington County Jail to CCCF it took over a month for the money in my account to be transferred, which was money I was trying to send to my parents. Now I have been having trouble here to reach them by phone. As a result I do not know if they are able to cover their mortgage and may have been evicted from their home or may be in the hospital.

Just because we women are currently in prison does not mean that we are second class citizens who do not have responsibilities to ourselves and to our families. We should not have these rights taken away from us. We are still human beings with needs just like everyone else, and our families suffer right along with us.

An Adult in Custody at
Coffee Creek Correctional Facility
Wilsonville, Oregon