Winsby v. Walsh, 70-2714.

• Decision Date: 12 January 1971
• Docket Number: No. 70-2714.,70-2714.
• Citation: 321 F. Supp. 523
• Court: U.S. District Court — Central District of California
• Parties: Steven Robert WINSBY, Petitioner, v. J. J. WALSH, Warden, Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island, San Pedro, California, Respondent.

321 F. Supp. 523

Steven Robert WINSBY, Petitioner, v. J. J. WALSH, Warden, Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island, San Pedro, California, Respondent.

No. 70-2714.

United States District Court, C. D. California.

January 12, 1971.

Peter I. Ostroff, Ernest S. Gould, Los Angeles, Cal., Arthur Gottlieb, Long Beach, Cal., for petitioner.

Robert L. Meyer, U. S. Atty., Frederick M. Brosio, Jr., Asst. U. S. Atty., Chief, Civil Division, Alan W. Peryam, Asst. U. S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., for respondent.

ORDER DENYING WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

DAVID W. WILLIAMS, District Judge.

Steven Robert Winsby is a prisoner in the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island, San Pedro, California, after his conviction on marijuana charges and the resulting sentence of three years. He entered the institution approximately 14 months ago and was explained the rules and regulations of the prison and then placed in custody with the general population and given all those privileges accorded inmates who were not subject to disciplinary proceedings. At the time Winsby entered the prison he wore a short mustache but he was clean-shaven and his hair was of ordinary length. Shortly after his admission to the facility he began letting his hair grow long, and from time to time he was reminded of the regulations against long hair in the prison and was asked to have his hair cut but he refused. Eventually he was told that if he persisted in refusing to have his hair cut he would be subjected to disciplinary proceedings, but he insisted that it was his God-given right to let his hair grow and that he would continue to refuse to have it cut. This attitude led to him being placed in what prison officials term "segregation" but which the petitioner prefers to call "solitary confinement in a dungeon" and he has remained there for a period of approximately 10 months to the filing of this petition for habeas corpus asking that he be returned to the general population. During his period in segregation the petitioner has not only stalwartly refused to cut his hair but also stopped shaving and allowed his beard to grow unshorn. At the time of his appearance in Court his hair had grown so that it half-covered his ears on the side, and in the back extended to the bottom of the collar of his jacket. He wore a shaggy mustache of approximately 1½ inches in length and a full facial beard. He now claims that his refusal to cut his hair and shave his beard is based upon religious beliefs. Prior to entering prison, however, he had worn a mustache but had not worn a beard in five years. He testified that prior to entering prison he shaved and kept well-groomed because it gave him a better appearance as he went about his business affairs, but that after entering prison he no longer felt the compulsion to remove his hirsute.

The petition alleges that the confinement of Winsby for a period of 10 months amounts to cruel and inhuman punishment in violation of Eighth Amendment protection and that the prison officials' insistence upon disciplining him because he would not shave amounts to "unbridled arrogance" in enforcing unreasonable rules. It should be emphasized that during all the time petitioner has been held in segregation, repeated visitations have been made to him by custodial officers in an attempt to persuade him to change his mind, and there is no dispute but that it has been made clear to Winsby that he would be immediately released from segregation and returned to the general population the moment he relented. The Government therefore argues that during all the time the petitioner has been in segregation he has held the key to his own release.

This Court recognizes that no prison is a joy to behold but it is well-recognized that the Terminal Island Federal Correctional Institution is one of the better places of custody within the federal system. Those persons who are not subject to discipline are placed either in dormitories consisting of large rooms with many beds, or in private single-bed rooms as space permits. They have access to a day room where they can play cards, look at television or hear radio. An auditorium provides space for the holding of meetings and the viewing of motion pictures. A large yard provides space for the playing of games and outside civilian teams are often brought in to compete with prisoners in athletic events. The average day of the usual prisoner consists of having his meals with other prisoners in regular dining facilities, exercising with other inmates and performing some type of prison work. The petitioner was employed as an orderly in the prison hospital prior to being segregated. The ordinary inmate is also allowed to receive visitors periodically in a large room furnished with tables and chairs and free from the close scrutiny of guards.

When for disciplinary reasons an inmate is placed in segregation, he is deprived of dormitory existence, group dining privileges, use of commissary and library privileges and is placed in a single-bedded room approximately six feet by eight feet which has three concrete walls with one window, and one wall consisting of bars. As a practical matter, he has no ability to mix with or converse with other prisoners and his exercise rights are limited to walking in a short nearby corridor from 20 to 45 minutes, five days each week. Besides containing a bed, the room contains a lavatory and toilet. When petitioner was held in segregation he was deprived of contact with others, not allowed to work at his hospital job, and although he was allowed to receive periodic visits from relatives and friends, those visits were confined to a conference room under greater surveillance than would ordinarily be the case and they were usually limited to one-half hour. While held in solitary confinement petitioner was allowed to take a shower daily and his meals, consisting of the same food served other prisoners, were brought to him to his cell.¹

It is clear that the purpose of the prison officials was to keep the petitioner out of the vision of other inmates so that none of the other prisoners would be tempted to defy the prison regulations and grow long hair and beards and so that the isolation of petitioner would serve as an example to them.

At the hearing the Government defended the reasonableness of the prison regulations by calling the associate warden, the chief correctional supervisor, and the prison psychiatrist. The latter testified that in his opinion the petitioner was sincere in his belief that he had a right to refuse to cut his hair or shave, but that there was little evidence that he held strong religious beliefs supporting this conduct prior to his entry into prison and no evidence that while in prison he had a "peak experience" or had undergone conversion to a religion.

The correctional officers testified that their principal reason for objecting to bearded inmates was the difficulty in identification. They also pointed out that it brought about unsanitary conditions among such a large number of men in close custodial contact with each other. The prison has a present male population of approximately 700 persons and a total of 75 correctional officers, some of whom are supervisors or attend to special assignment duties. This results in there being available a maximum of only 20 guards to police 700 inmates during any one work shift. A high turnover of personnel adds to the difficulty in that it takes a...