California Prison Agency Remains in Turmoil, Judge Continues Push for Reform, Director Quits

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Fallout from a federal judge’s February decision to seize control of California’s prison medical care system continued in March as U.S. District Judge Thelton E. Henderson expressed disappointment with the actions of Acting Corrections Secretary Jeanne S. Woodford.

In a memo to employees after the abrupt resignation of her predecessor, Roderick Hickman, Woodford listed various priorities and challenges facing the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, but did not mention priorities that have been the longstanding concerns of Judge Henderson.

Among the issues not addressed in the memo: the inmate health care crisis, which prompted Henderson’s drastic but widely anticipated February decision to place the system in the hands of a federal receiver, as well as the mandate to abolish the so-called “code of silence,” a practice which has prevented some officers from reporting misconduct by fellow officers.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Woodford as acting secretary on Feb. 26, after Hickman’s resignation. At that time, Hickman cited a flagging commitment from the governor to improve the prison system. Hickman also had a combative relationship with the state’s powerful correctional officers’ union.

Woodford’s office responded to Henderson’s disappointment, saying that the memo was meant to be “general in tone,” and therefore left out many priorities and reforms.

In February, Henderson gave control over the prison system’s health care to Robert Sillen, former head of the public hospital system in Santa Clara County. Sillen reports directly to Henderson and is responsible for addressing concerns that Henderson has concluded are beyond the state’s ability to fix.

In 2004, Henderson warned that he might place the entire prison system in federal receivership after accusing the Schwarzenegger administration of ceding too much management power to the prison guards’ union