Spouse of a California prison inmate secures a $5.6 million compensation following a lawsuit over humiliating body search.
Following a four-hour journey to visit her spouse at the Tehachapi correctional facility on September 6, 2019, Christina Cardenas was put through a series of humiliating ordeals by prison authorities. This included a strip search, drug and pregnancy tests, and medical scans at a hospital, followed by another strip search by a male doctor who inappropriately violated her, as stated in a lawsuit.
Cardenas decided to bring a lawsuit against this treatment, aiming to prevent others from experiencing similar violations.
With the settlement amounting to $5.6 million, $3.6 million will be paid by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the remaining amount will be covered by other defendants such as two correctional officers, a doctor, and the Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley hospital.
The prison officials, based on a warrant, conducted the searches, claiming that a strip search was allowable only if an X-ray discovered any contraband within Cardenas' body. However, neither the X-ray nor the CT scan found any such evidence.
During this process, Cardenas was handcuffed and subjected to a degrading parade through the facility, without access to water or a bathroom for the majority of the time. She was also charged for the hospital's services, subsequently receiving bills totaling over $5,000. Despite no contraband being found in her belongings or body, her visit with her husband was denied.
One of the officers asked her, "What's the point of you visiting, Christina? You don't have to visit. It's a choice," implying that her right to visit her incarcerated husband was unnecessary.
Cardenas' attorney, Gloria Allred, regarded this officer's statement as an attempt to intimidate and undermine Cardenas' right to visit her husband.
During a previous visit to marry her husband, Cardenas also underwent a strip search and faced additional difficulties during her prison visits. Although not to the same extent as the September 6, 2019 incident, these challenges persisted. Her husband remains in custody.
The settlement enforces the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to distribute a policy memorandum to its employees, aiming to safeguard the rights of visitors undergoing strip searches. This includes ensuring the search warrant is understood by the visitor, providing a copy of the warrant, clarifying the scope of the warrant, and adhering to its limits.
Allred stated that Cardenas is not the only one to have faced such mistreatment by correctional officers and hopes that this case will help safeguard the rights of spouses and family members visiting their loved ones in prison.
California prisons have been grappling with an ongoing issue of sexual abuse and misconduct. In response, the US Justice Department launched an investigation into allegations of systemic sexual abuse by correctional officers towards incarcerated women at two state-run California prisons.
Earlier this year, the federal Bureau of Prisons announced its decision to close a women's prison in Northern California, known as the "rape club," following an Associated Press investigation revealing rampant sexual abuse by correctional officers.
After securing the $5.6 million settlement, Cardenas and her legal team ensure that a portion of the funds will be used to cover expenses for other victims who have experienced similar violations at the hands of prison authorities.
Moving forward, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will be obligated to disseminate a policy memo to its employees, emphasizing the protection of visitors' rights during strip searches.
