Calipatria State Prison

Facilities

Although located about 3 mi from the center of Calipatria, the prison is within the city limits. Called the lowest prison in the Western Hemisphere, it lies 184 ft below sea level. As of Fiscal Year 2005/2006, CAL had a total of 1,143 staff and an annual operating budget of $123 million.

The facility covers a total of 1227.5 acres (with the prison on 300 acres).

As of July 31, 2022, CAL was incarcerating people at 110.1% of its design capacity, with 2,543 occupants.

Over 2,000 of its housing units are maximum-security Level IV ("Cells, fenced or walled perimeters, electronic security, more staff and unarmed officers both inside and outside the installation"); the remainder are minimum-security Level I ("Open dormitories without a secure perimeter").

History

CAL opened in January 1992, After a number of birds had died by electrocution, an ornithologist was hired to help redesign the fence and eliminate the problem.

As of 1995, CAL's problems included "double-celling" (placing two inmates in bunk beds in a cell designed for one), psychological stress, a drastic shortage of work for prisoners, chronic understaffing among prison employees, and gang violence. A May 1995 incident in which five inmates stabbed and assaulted eight officers was described in 1997 as the worst inmate attack on staff in California state prisons in recent years.

The weather in the area is desert-like, cold in winter and very hot in summer—up to 118 degrees Fahrenheit. The smell of cow manure pervades the prison and the entire area due to large cattle feed lots nearby.

Angelo Buono, Jr. (also known as the Hillside Strangler) died at CAL in September 2002 of a "massive heart attack."

An August 2005 riot at CAL was the most violent uprising at the prison. The event left 25 inmates and 25 prison staff members wounded.

Notable inmates (current & former)

• Patrick Kearney, serial killer known as the Trashbag Killer. Spent time in CAL in the early 2000s.
• James Fagone, accomplice of murderer Larissa Schuster
• Angelo Buono Jr., serial killer and one of the two "Hillside Stranglers"; died in CAL in 2002
• Alexander Hernandez, serial killer
• Shazer Fernando Limas, murderer who killed his girlfriend and two young children.
• Jose Luis Orozco, murderer who killed Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff Jerry Ortiz on June 24, 2005. Sentenced to death.
• Herbert “Peanut” Tom, murderer who killed 4 in a drive by shooting in Calexico, California, on December 9, 1998.

References

References

1. (January 31, 2023). "California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Monthly Report of Population As of Midnight January 31, 2023".
2. CDCR. "CDCR - Calipatria State Prison (CAL)".
3. [http://www.calipatria.com/ City of Calipatria official Web site.] Accessed 22 Dec 2007.
4. Calipatria State Prison (CAL). (2009). "Mission Statement". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
5. link. (October 26, 2008)
6. (July 31, 2022). "California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Monthly Report of Population As of Midnight July 31, 2022".
7. Furillo, Andy. Pressures Building in State's 32 Prisons. ''Sacramento Bee'', January 19, 1997.
8. Davis, Mike. A Prison-Industrial Complex: Hell Factories in the Field. ''The Nation'', Vol. 260, Issue 7, pp. 229-234, February 20, 1995. [http://www.radicalurbantheory.com/mdavis/hellfactories.html HTML version.] {{Webarchive. link. (2007-12-19)
9. Saunders, Debra J. Death of a strangler. ''San Francisco Chronicle'', October 1, 2002.
10. Schmidt, Steve. [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050904-9999-1n4prison.html "Calipatria riot reflects troubled prison system. Crowding, violence just part of problem"]. ''San Diego Union-Tribune'', September 4, 2005.
11. A guard shot and killed an inmate with a [[Ruger Mini-14]] [[Semi-automatic rifle
12. King, Gary C. "The Hillside Strangler: Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi." ''[[Investigation Discovery]]''. [http://investigation.discovery.com/investigation/where-now/hillside-strangler/hillside-strangler-02.html 2]. Retrieved on January 10, 2010.
13. (2022-05-26). "L.A. serial killer convicted of five 2014 murders faces life in prison".
14. Lloyd, Jonathan. (2012-05-07). "Suspect Charged With Murder in Deaths of Girlfriend, Two Children".
15. (2022-12-15). "California man convicted of killing girlfriend, 2 babies".
16. (2022-12-14). "California man convicted of killing girlfriend, 2 babies - CBS Sacramento".
17. (2007-05-04). "Gang member sentenced to death for killing sheriff's deputy".