Female prisoners complain they haven’t seen sunlight in months and are denied outdoor access after being transferred to new facilities

Female prisoners transferred to a new prison claim they have not been exposed to or seen sunlight for months.

Carolyn Knudsen was transferred to a detention center in downtown Miami after the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin, California, was suddenly closed in mid-April. She was being held for transporting children across state lines for the purpose of sexual abuse.

Knudsen is currently serving her sentence at FDC Miami, a high-rise detention center for pretrial detainees. She told her father that she has not seen sunlight since leaving Dublin and that she cannot take classes to reduce her sentence because the programs are full.

“She can’t go outside and it’s wearing her down,” her father Paul Knudsen told Fox5. “She’s more depressed and cries when I talk to her.”

Susan Beaty, who represents hundreds of former FCI Dublin detainees, alleges similar conditions exist at the federal detention centers SeaTac and Philadelphia.

Carolyn Knudsen was transferred to a detention center in downtown Miami after the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin, California, suddenly closed in mid-April. Knudsen is now serving her sentence at FDC Miami, a high-rise detention center that houses pretrial detainees. She told her father that she has not seen sunlight since leaving Dublin and has been unable to attend classes to reduce her sentence because the programs were full.

Last month, Beaty visited clients in Seattle and reported that nearly 40 women complained about lack of sunlight exposure.

Unlike FCI Dublin, which had outdoor spaces, these detention centres are designed for short-term stays and do not have the infrastructure to accommodate long-term detainees.

“There’s no outside space,” Beaty said.

‘The people we spoke to in SeaTac made it very clear that they had not been outside since they arrived in April. So they have not had access to direct sunlight or fresh air for months. This is particularly concerning for people with medical and mental health conditions.

“The lack of access to outdoor space has only compounded the impact of these transfers and the trauma our clients have already experienced.”

About 200 of the 605 women transferred from the now-closed FCI Dublin are being held in three Bureau of Prisons detention centres.

Unlike FCI Dublin, which had outdoor spaces, other detention centres are designed for short-term stays and do not have the infrastructure to accommodate long-term detainees.

Dublin was once a sprawling facility with outdoor spaces and views of the East Bay hills. Inmates in Dublin had daily access to the outdoors

The abrupt closure of FCI Dublin followed a long-running sexual abuse scandal and the appointment of a special master to oversee reforms at the low-security prison. Once a sprawling facility with outdoor spaces and views of the East Bay hills, Dublin offered prisoners daily outdoor time.

Disagreements have arisen over conditions in the new facilities. While the BOP claims that inmates have access to sunlight in outdoor recreation areas, inmates and their advocates disagree.

Women at SeaTac and other centers describe limited or no direct sunlight, with some reporting that skylights provide little natural light. Additional complaints include inadequate ventilation and possible vitamin D deficiencies, as evidenced by BOP recommendations to “drink milk” to alleviate side effects.

The BOP counters these claims with a narrow definition of access to sunlight, citing enclosed outdoor areas and a viral video showing inmates at FDC Miami with access to open windows. However, they have refused to provide photographic evidence of conditions inside these facilities, leaving the issue unresolved.

Oakland attorney Yolanda Huang successfully sued San Francisco County Jails in October 2023 for denying inmates access to the outdoors. The judge ruled in her clients’ favor, requiring some inmates to get at least 15 minutes of daily sunlight after a year of incarceration. However, Huang reports that this order has not yet been enforced.

Huang emphasizes that “access to sunlight” is a complex issue. Ceiling openings or non-opening windows alone do not constitute adequate sunlight exposure.

Huang’s victory was based on the principle that confinement should not lead to chronic disease.

In the case of the transferred FCI Dublin women, attorney Susan Beaty brought these concerns to the attention of the court-appointed special master overseeing their care.

Although the Knudsens hope for a solution, there are no indications so far that site visits have been made or that a ruling has been made on the matter.