New attack on prison policy: Racial Segregation: Union Official says it Ok with him

A California state prison policy that temporarily separates inmates by race has come under renewed attack this week in a complaint filed by an official of the influential prison-guard union. In complaints to Corrections Secretary Roderick Hickman and state Auditor Elaine Howle, the union official contends that he has observed inmates at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville segregated ``beyond 60 days for indefinite periods of time.'' Under a two-decade-old practice, California places inmates in cells with prisoners of the same ethnic background for the first 60 days after their arrival in prison. The policy has been challenged by inmate Garrison Johnson in a case that was argued before the Supreme Court in November. A federal appeals court in San Francisco previously upheld the policy and the state attorney general's office defended it before the Supreme Court as a necessary precaution to begin the process of separating potential enemies. In letters dated Dec. 18 and obtained by the Mercury News on Tuesday, David Robinson, president of the medical facility's chapter of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, said arguments made before the Supreme Court contained ``bold face lies.'' Robinson said he is not opposed to the department policy as long as it is properly applied. His complaints were made as part of the state's ``whistle-blower law.'' The law instructs the state auditor to investigate these complaints. . A year ago, Hickman, a former guard, was named by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency. [more]