KQED Investigates Abuse and Retaliation at CA’s Largest Women’s Prison

SPEAKER_2 (0:03)

Support for KQED Podcasts comes from Stanford's Master of Liberal Arts program, inviting students on a part-time journey of ideas, culminating in a Stanford graduate degree. An info session will be held on October 22nd, mla.stanford.edu.

Alexis Madrigal (0:23)

Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal.

When Aliksandria Prout was released from the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla in 2022, she set out to expose the correctional officer who abused her. Her story, along with many other survivors of prison abuse, is detailed in a new podcast series from KQED Snap Studios called We Are Jane Doe. It's the result of a two years long investigation by Madi Bolaños and Anna Sussman into the prison. And this morning, we're joined by those two reporters. Welcome.

Madi Bolaños (0:58)

Thanks for having us.

Anna Sussman (0:59)

Thanks, Alexis.

Alexis Madrigal (0:59)

Thanks for coming. We're also joined by Ali Prout. Thank you so much for being here with us.

Aliksandria Prout (1:05)

Thank you for having me.

Alexis Madrigal (1:06)

Yeah.

So, Ali, you know, you were sent to this facility in 2022 What was it like for you to just sort of step into that environment?

Aliksandria Prout (1:18)

Well, I tried to fake it till I made it. But to be honest with you, it was overwhelming. It was like joining, walking into a coliseum. And when you enter the yard and you see the different buildings, the first building you encounter is death row. And it hits you, there's women in that building sitting on death row. And you're there for something very minor.

So to have to be in the same vicinity of other women like that, it can mess with your head a little bit. And you have to not show any fear.

Alexis Madrigal (2:05)

Even though you are.

Aliksandria Prout (2:06)

Well, yeah, you're a little terrified. But you have to treat everyone the same. And usually when you do, it's fine. But that is a lot to take in when you've never been in an environment like that and you've been sheltered the majority of your life. And then suddenly you're in that kind of a place.

Alexis Madrigal (2:26)

But it wasn't really the women who turned out to be the biggest problem. I mean, just a few days into your incarceration, right? A corrections officer named Gregory Rodriguez stopped you at a checkpoint. And so what happened there?

Aliksandria Prout (2:37)

Right. The women from all spectrums of criminal activity were very nice and respectful to me. I got along with everybody great. Yeah, it happened to be the correctional staff. And they were just very rude, condescending and abused their power. And it was one morning, I was on my way to a medical docket in the 805 building, which is across the yard into another yard. And he was working the 805 exchange. And I had an N95 mask on because it was during the time of COVID. And he asked me to remove my mask so he could identify me to my ID.

So I said, sure, not a problem. I removed my mask and he started making sexually, you know, objectifying comments about my eyes, about my lips, the size of my lips. So I then became very uncomfortable. I said, this is a complete lack of professionalism, a complete breach of your professional authority. Like this is not appropriate for you to make these kind of comments to me as an inmate. Or as a woman in general. So I put the mask back on, asked if I could go and he asked what housing unit I was in. I said, I'm in quarantine, I'm in 503 So I went to the medical ducat, came back, went back to my housing unit. Well, I think it was a couple of days later, I got a call saying Prout, you have an attorney visit.

And I actually have the ducat still.

It says attorney visit on the ducat. So they actually fabricated and created a ducat that says attorney visit with a time and place, BPH office. So they handed me the ducat, and here I am thinking I have an attorney visit. And I'm incarcerated at a state prison for a restraining order violation. So I'm like, I don't think I'm supposed to be here. This doesn't even, the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

So I'm thinking, maybe my attorney's here to figure out what's really going on. And so I go up there and I'm walked up there by an additional officer named Alan. And I'm walked to the the main yard gate and guess who's waiting for me? Rodriguez. And my heart just sank.

Because between the comments he had made previously, him asking why I was housed and then him waiting for me.