The 942 acre (3.8 kmē) facility opened in 1988 and was built on what was once Tulare Lake, home to the Tachi Native American people.
It houses almost 5,000 prisoners, although it was designed to bed 3,000. The 1700 person staff uses a budget of $115 million (not including another $30 million allocated for the hospital) to fund the prison.
In March 1997, the CBS News newsmagazine 60 Minutes broke the story of a scandal at Corcoran where the guards were playing "gladiator" with the prisoners. They would put two prisoners known to really hate each other in the same exercise yard at the same time, and bet on who survived. One of the fights had been videotaped and was broadcast on the show. Although the story became a nationwide scandal at that point, it had already become a statewide scandal in November 1996 after an investigation by the Los Angeles Times.
The stated purpose of the SHU was to safely isolate troublemakers and gang members from the prisoners who follow the rules and want to do their time in an orderly fashion.
Some prison staff even sadistically toy with prisoners using their fears and delusions against them, as when guards tamper with an inmate’s tray of food or assert they are controlling the volume of the voices a prisoner hears.
Also prisoners who were injured by the guns should get compensation for their injuries and all of those who were subjected to the "gladiator fights" or beaten by guards on entry to Corcoran or assaulted during their stay deserve compensation.
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