Anger over lack of access to library and fitness center facilities in the brand-new Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen, Washington, sparked a protest May 31, when 130 inmates refused to return to their cells following a recreation period in the prison’s yard. The June 2 Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that the protesters surrendered peacefully after three hours, and prison authorities subsequently “locked down” the facility and sent 10 protest leaders to another state prison.
The Stafford Creek Corrections Center, which opened in a partially operational state April 7, has frustrated inmates with delays in opening the library and gym, inadequate work and recreation opportunities, and a no-smoking policy that bans all tobacco use among inmates.
Posted June 12, 2000.