CAMP FEMALE POPULATION DECREASING
by Rhonda Turpin
Danbury Camp was built in
1973 by the Nixon Administration when the Watergate
scandal occurred. The White
House did not want to place the white collar defendants
behind the fence at the FCI, therefore this structure was born. It was built for 12
men, with 12 single rooms that still stand today, except each room now
has 6 to 8
women residing in the same space.
Also, the area that was previously the "Dirty
Dozen's" bowling alley is still the basement, but currently houses
150 women, sectioned
off into three dorms, with two-women cubicles. Their previous workout room is
now sprinkled with pet cages that house the Puppies Behind Bars
project, and more
than a dozen women. What was
built for 12 men, now has a count of 208.
The current count is low, and
dropping weekly.
Thanks to U.S. Attorney Eric
Holder's sentencing initiatives, women are entering
the door with a lot less time at the Camps throughout the country. Our count is
decreasing, and Alderson Prison Camp's count is now considered
low. Last week,
they informed women here that they would be going to Alderson's RDAP
program,
instead of the regular programming site at Greenville Illinois.
For almost the same white
collar crime that I received a 15- year sentence for
almost a decade ago, women are entering prison today with anywhere from
three
months to a year and one day maximum, which is equivalent to a state
sentence
for the same crime.
Amendment 782 for drug
crimes will also continue to drive the population down.
This system is a form of
slavery. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines
clearly states
that their purpose was to increase the prison populations by 10% each
year.
The sentencing climate is
surely changing, and I hope its permanent, because
this system is broken on so many levels.
Written as a resident of the basement/previous bowling alley, cubicle
A-22,
bottom bunk.
April 21, 2015
Danbury Prison Camp
author, publisher, prisoner
