In 1994, a videotape showed guards at Corcoran Prison putting rival prison gangs into the same exercise yard to watch them fight.

The guards stopped the fight by shooting at the prisoners, killing one.

Between 1989 and 1995 Corcoran prison guards shot fifty inmates, killing 7.

The state investigated the prison twice and found nothing wrong. Then the FBI investigated for 4 years. Eight guards were charged with civil rights abuses.

One guard told the FBI "… we were shooting inmates with a lethal weapon to break up fist fights." After telling his story to the FBI, the guard received death threats.

The California Department of Corrections will spend one million dollars to defend the guards.

Additional Notes:

In the last few years many cases of police brutality and prisoner abuse have been reported. Some people believe that this is torture and inhuman treatment. More than half of the abuses are against minorities. The US has agreed to follow international rules against torture, but many abuses continue. The number of people in US prisons has grown quickly, causing crowding and a shortage of well-trained guards. The chances of abuse grow along with these conditions.

Related Stories:

• Amnesty International Press Release
• Amnesty International A Briefing for the UN Committee against Torture
• California guards accused of creating prisoner fight Club (CNN)
• Prison ‘Gladiators’ (ABC)
  

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