WASHINGTON (AP) — Chronic understaffing at a federal prison in California hampered response to an inmate’s suicide this week. That’s according to two people familiar with the incident at FCI Mendota, a medium-security prison west of Fresno. Prison workers who would normally rush to the scene weren’t able to leave posts where they were being forced to fill-in as correctional officers. The episode exemplifies the dangers of the agency’s severe staffing crisis. The Associated Press reported last week that nearly one-third of federal correctional officer jobs in the United States are vacant, forcing prisons to use cooks, teachers, nurses and other workers to guard inmates.
