California Correctional Institution

Facilities

CCI is in the Cummings Valley region.

CCI has 1650 acre including Level I ("Open dormitories with a secure perimeter") housing; Level II ("Open dormitories with secure perimeter fences and armed coverage") housing; Level III ("Individual cells, fenced perimeters and armed coverage") housing; Level IV ("Cells, fenced or walled perimeters, electronic security, more staff and armed officers both inside and outside the installation") housing; a Security Housing Unit (SHU, which is "the most secure area within a Level IV prison designed to provide maximum coverage"); and a Reception Center (RC) which "provides short term housing to process, classify and evaluate incoming inmates." As of November 2020, the facility's total population was 2983, or 107.2 percent of its design capacity of 2,783.

History

The original California Institution for Women, the first women's facility in California, opened on the site of what is now CCI in 1932. It was sometimes referred to as "Tehachapi", as in the 1940s films Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity. The institution was "run for many years independently from the correctional system for men" but beginning in 1944 was gradually brought under the control of the California Department of Corrections. After the 1952 Kern County earthquake on July 21, "made the brick dormitories unsafe", the institution was closed and the 417 prisoners were sent to the new California Institution for Women in Corona.

The prison was reopened in 1954 as CCI, an all-men's prison.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger "directed inmate firefighters and staff from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation", including those from CCI, to help fight the October 2007 California wildfires.

In popular culture

The women's prison has been frequently mentioned in popular film and radio, particularly during the noir era.

• The Maltese Falcon (1941)
• Double Indemnity (1944)
• Nocturne (1946)
• The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
• Out of the Past (1947)
• The Hunted (1948)
• Criss Cross (1949)
• The Story of Molly X (1949)
• 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982)
• The Black Echo, 1991
• Duckman episode title "Noir Gang" (1996)
• Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon (page 106 (Italian translation)) (2009)
• Dragnet radio drama series
• Wanda Jackson, "There's a Riot Goin' On" rock-a-billy recording

JR (artist) made a documentary film in 2023.

Notable inmates

• Inez Brown Burns (1886–1976), socialite convicted of performing illegal abortions; served 2 years and 7 months.
• Joseph Danks (born 1962), serial killer convicted of killing six men; was later transferred to San Quentin State Prison for killing a cellmate.
• Scott Evans Dekraai, perpetrator of the 2011 Seal Beach shooting.
• David Wayne DePape (born 1980), Canadian citizen convicted of attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer in San Francisco.
• Barbara Graham (1923–1955), murderer; later transferred to San Quentin State Prison and was executed.
• Tory Lanez (born 1992), Canadian singer and rapper convicted of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in July 2020. Lanez was transferred to California Men’s Colony in May 2025.
• Philip Joseph Hughes Jr. (born 1948), serial killer
• John William Kelley (born 1963), serial killer and rapist.
• Blake Leibel (born 1981), former graphic novelist convicted of murdering his Ukrainian fiancé Iana Kasian. Blake is now in Centinela State Prison.
• Madge Meredith (1921–2017), actress wrongfully convicted of kidnapping; was released in 1951.
• Gerald Parker (born 1955), serial killer. Currently at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.
• Kellen Winslow II (born 1983), former National Football League tight end, pleaded guilty to the rape of an unconscious teen and sexual battery on a 54-year-old hitchhiker as part of a plea deal on November 4, 2019. In exchange for his guilty plea at San Diego County Superior Court, the court agreed to sentence him to between 12 and 18 years in prison.

Notable staff

• David Scott Milton (1934–2020), author who ran a writer's workshop at the institution from 1991–2004

References

References

1. (January 31, 2023). "California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Monthly Report of Population As of Midnight January 31, 2023".
2. Pepper, Art, and Laurie Pepper. ''Straight Life: The Story of Art Pepper''. Updated ed. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994. {{ISBN. 0-306-80558-8
3. Warden Named to State Prison – Official to Take Over Friday in Lancaster. ''Daily News of Los Angeles'', August 25, 1994.
4. "California Correctional Institution (CCI)".
5. California Correctional Institution (CCI). (2009). "Mission Statement". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
6. Offender Information Services Branch. (30 November 2020). "Monthly Report of Population". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
7. Bosquet, Jean. Rites open new woman's prison. ''Los Angeles Times'', May 23, 1932.
8. Barrett, Larry. [http://tehachapilife.com/Cummings_Valley.htm Cummings Valley, Tehachapi.]
9. Dirks, Tim. [http://www.filmsite.org/doub2.html Review of Double Indemnity (1944)]. Greatest Films at filmsite.org, accessed Nov 15, 2007.
10. Kruttschnitt, Candace, and Rosemary Gartner. ''Marking Time in the Golden State: Women's Imprisonment in California''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. {{ISBN. 0-521-53265-5.
11. Tehachapi's inmates will go to Corona. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', July 24, 1952.
12. In 1985–1986, maximum and medium security facilities were added to it. The Southern Maximum Security Complex at Tehachapi was "touted as the most advanced in the country", but was also "called a '[[white elephant]]' and a 'Cadillac' because it took so long to build and cost so much".Mecoy, Laura. "Troubles With Prison Expansion". ''[[Sacramento Bee]]'', November 27, 1985.
13. "[http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/7806/ Gov. Schwarzenegger Directs CDCR to Utilize Inmate Fire Crews in Response to Major Wildfires] {{webarchive. link. (2007-10-30 ". Press release, Oct 22, 2007.)
14. (February 2012). "The Incredible Case of the Infamous Lower Haight Abortion Mill".
15. (August 6, 2024). "Condemned Inmate Transfer Program". [[California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation]].
16. "CDCR Public Inmate Locator Disclaimer".
17. "CDCR Public Inmate Locator Disclaimer".
18. "Man sentenced in 1988 slaying of LO couple".
19. "CDCR Public Inmate Locator Disclaimer".
20. (5 August 1951). "Madge Meredith". The des Moines Register.