CHOWCHILLA, Calif. — State lawmakers are demanding answers from prison officials following the state’s $1.9 million settlement nearly two years after guards inside California’s largest women’s prison sprayed dozens of incarcerated women with pepper spray.
On Aug. 2, 2024, correctional officers gathered numerous incarcerated women in the prison cafeteria during a property search that two lawsuits allege was retaliation for filing sexual misconduct complaints against staff members under the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act.
The incident was first reported by the Chronicle after internal surveillance videos were leaked online. It involved two separate use-of-force incidents at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, located in Madera County…