Thirty years after prisoners with disabilities sued the state of California and 25 years after a federal court first ordered accommodations, a judge found that state prison and parole officials still are not doing enough to help deaf and blind prisoners 鈥� in part because they are not using readily available technology such as video recordings and laptop computers.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken鈥檚 rulings on March 20 centered on the prison system鈥檚 need to help deaf, blind, and low-vision prisoners better prepare for parole hearings, though the decisions are also likely to improve accommodations for hundreds of other prisoners with those disabilities.
鈥淚 believe I should have the same opportunity as hearing individuals,鈥� a prisoner, deaf since birth, said in court documents.
The lawsuit is one of several class-action proceedings that have led the courts to assume oversight of the prison system鈥檚 treatment of those who are sick or suffer from mental illnesses.
鈥淚t is difficult not to despair,鈥� a blind prisoner said in written testimony. 鈥淚 am desperate for some kind of assistance that will let me prepare adequately for my parole hearing.鈥�
The parole process can begin more than a year before an incarcerated person鈥檚 hearing and last long afterward. And the consequences of rejection are great: People denied parole typically must wait three to 15 years before they can try again.
Prisoners are expected to review their prison records and a psychologist鈥檚 assessment of whether they are at risk for future violence, write a release plan including housing and work plans, write letters of remorse, and prepare a statement to parole officials on why they should be released.
鈥淚t is a very time-consuming and important process,鈥� said Gay Grunfeld, one of the attorneys representing about 10,000 prisoners with many different disabilities in the federal class-action lawsuit. 鈥淎ll of these tasks are harder if you are blind, low-vision, or deaf.鈥�
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and its Board of Parole Hearings 鈥渞emain committed to conducting fair hearings and ensuring access to the hearings for all participants. We are assessing the potential impact of the order and exploring available legal options,鈥� said spokesperson Albert Lundeen.
The department counts more than 500 prisoners with serious vision problems and about 80 with severe hearing problems, though Grunfeld thinks both are undercounts.
California鈥檚 prison system has lagged in adopting technological accommodations that are commonly used in the outside world, Wilken found in .
For instance, California gives prisoners that can be used for communications and entertainment, and since late 2021 has gradually been providing secure laptops to prisoners who are enrolled in college, GED, and high school diploma programs.
But officials balked at providing computers that Wilken decided are needed by some prisoners with disabilities. She required the department to develop a plan within 60 days of to, among many things, provide those individuals with laptops equipped with accommodations like screen magnification and software that can translate text to speech or Braille.
鈥淚t would make a huge difference to me to have equipment that would let me listen to and dictate written words, or produce written documents in another accessible manner,鈥� testified the blind prisoner. He added that such accommodations 鈥渨ould finally let me properly prepare for my parole hearing with the privacy, independence, and dignity that all humans deserve.鈥�
Similarly, California routinely uses video cameras during parole proceedings, including when it conducted hearings remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. But prison policy has prohibited videotaping the hearings, including sign language translations that some deaf prisoners rely on to understand the proceedings.
The deaf-since-birth prisoner, for example, testified that he also doesn鈥檛 speak, his primary method of communication is American Sign Language, and his English is so poor that written transcripts do him no good. He advocated for recorded sign language translations of the hearings and related documents that he could review whenever he wanted, in the same way that other inmates can review written text.
Wilken ordered prison officials to comply.
鈥淭hey need to be able to watch it later, not read it later,鈥� said Grunfeld. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to make a huge difference in the lives of deaf signers.鈥�
The department recently acquired 100 portable electronic video magnifiers, at a cost of $1,100 each, that prisoners with low vision can check out to use in their cells. The technology will augment similar devices in prison libraries that prisoners say aren鈥檛 private and can be used only during libraries鈥� limited hours.
Wilken said officials acquired the magnifiers only after prodding by prisoners and their attorneys.
Grunfeld said the judge鈥檚 detailed order, which includes requirements like better assistance from attorneys, will 鈥渕ake sure that people with disabilities are on an equal footing as people who don鈥檛 have disabilities.鈥�
鈥淢y colleagues and I have been working for several years to persuade CDCR to adopt this technology, and it鈥檚 been slow-going. But they鈥檝e gradually accepted that they do need to do this,鈥� Grunfeld said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 long past due, but at least it鈥檚 coming.鈥�
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