Post by Anja on Jun 9, 2006 1:56:26 GMT -5
Study: Prison abuse, neglect not unique to state
Abuse and neglect in California prisons is so bad that it has brought
condemnation from national experts and forced a federal judge to seize
control of inmate health care.
Now a federal commission says in a 126-page report made available in
advance to the Associated Press that similar problems exist in many
prisons and jails across the nation.
California has become known as a national leader in areas such as
environmental protection and energy efficiency. In this case, it's leading
by bad example, said state Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, a member of
the national Commission on Safety and Abuse In America's Prisons.
The first national prison commission in three decades is presenting its
findings and recommendations today to the U.S. Senate Judiciary
subcommittee on corrections and rehabilitation in Washington, D.C.
Also today, federal judges from Sacramento and San Francisco will hold an
unusual hearing in the state capital to consider expanding federal control
of inmates' medical treatment to cover mental health care.
The review stems from an ongoing dispute between a non-profit inmate
rights group that filed class-action lawsuits against state officials over
how the prison system should operate. The suit was settled shortly after
it was filed in 2001, but the 2 sides have been sparring since over
implementing the details.
Problems that have made headlines in California echo in other lockups for
2.2 million inmates nationwide, the commission said in its report. They
include:
. Medical care so poor that inmates often die of neglect.
. A "code of silence" that protects wrongdoers while punishing
whistle-blowers.
. Crowding and underfunding that leaves inmates with living space the size
of a twin bed.
. An emphasis on punishment, including mentally damaging periods of
isolation, instead of on programs that could help convicts prepare for a
return to society.
"If you want to know anything that's wrong with prisons, come to
California," said Romero, the Senate majority leader who has held many
hearings into prison problems. "How not to run a prison -- that's what
California has been about for decades."
Elaine Jennings, representative for the newly renamed California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the department is
making progress but the national report shows the challenges it faces.
The adult and juvenile prison systems were combined nearly a year ago to
give top corrections administrators more control over individual prisons
and allow better coordination. Jennings said there is better security,
separation of inmates, and employee discipline than before.
New interim Corrections Secretary James Tilton promises to restore
education and vocational programs that failed under his 2 predecessors.
The commission's findings that more prison rehabilitation was needed found
an unusual ally in Chuck Alexander, executive vice president of the
California Correctional Peace Officers Association.
"We're going to have 'rehabilitation' stenciled on our badges, but that's
as far as it got. The educational and vocational programs have been
virtually shut down," Alexander said.
Such programs are needed to keep ex-convicts from quickly returning to
prison, he said.
Far from locking society's problems safely behind bars, poor treatment
virtually guarantees that most inmates will eventually get out and cause
more harm, the national commission said.
"It's based on a false premise that you lock people away and they somehow
get rehabilitated. And they really don't get rehabilitated at all," Romero
said. "7 of 10 parolees will come back, most after committing new crimes."
(source: Associated Press)
Abuse and neglect in California prisons is so bad that it has brought
condemnation from national experts and forced a federal judge to seize
control of inmate health care.
Now a federal commission says in a 126-page report made available in
advance to the Associated Press that similar problems exist in many
prisons and jails across the nation.
California has become known as a national leader in areas such as
environmental protection and energy efficiency. In this case, it's leading
by bad example, said state Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, a member of
the national Commission on Safety and Abuse In America's Prisons.
The first national prison commission in three decades is presenting its
findings and recommendations today to the U.S. Senate Judiciary
subcommittee on corrections and rehabilitation in Washington, D.C.
Also today, federal judges from Sacramento and San Francisco will hold an
unusual hearing in the state capital to consider expanding federal control
of inmates' medical treatment to cover mental health care.
The review stems from an ongoing dispute between a non-profit inmate
rights group that filed class-action lawsuits against state officials over
how the prison system should operate. The suit was settled shortly after
it was filed in 2001, but the 2 sides have been sparring since over
implementing the details.
Problems that have made headlines in California echo in other lockups for
2.2 million inmates nationwide, the commission said in its report. They
include:
. Medical care so poor that inmates often die of neglect.
. A "code of silence" that protects wrongdoers while punishing
whistle-blowers.
. Crowding and underfunding that leaves inmates with living space the size
of a twin bed.
. An emphasis on punishment, including mentally damaging periods of
isolation, instead of on programs that could help convicts prepare for a
return to society.
"If you want to know anything that's wrong with prisons, come to
California," said Romero, the Senate majority leader who has held many
hearings into prison problems. "How not to run a prison -- that's what
California has been about for decades."
Elaine Jennings, representative for the newly renamed California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the department is
making progress but the national report shows the challenges it faces.
The adult and juvenile prison systems were combined nearly a year ago to
give top corrections administrators more control over individual prisons
and allow better coordination. Jennings said there is better security,
separation of inmates, and employee discipline than before.
New interim Corrections Secretary James Tilton promises to restore
education and vocational programs that failed under his 2 predecessors.
The commission's findings that more prison rehabilitation was needed found
an unusual ally in Chuck Alexander, executive vice president of the
California Correctional Peace Officers Association.
"We're going to have 'rehabilitation' stenciled on our badges, but that's
as far as it got. The educational and vocational programs have been
virtually shut down," Alexander said.
Such programs are needed to keep ex-convicts from quickly returning to
prison, he said.
Far from locking society's problems safely behind bars, poor treatment
virtually guarantees that most inmates will eventually get out and cause
more harm, the national commission said.
"It's based on a false premise that you lock people away and they somehow
get rehabilitated. And they really don't get rehabilitated at all," Romero
said. "7 of 10 parolees will come back, most after committing new crimes."
(source: Associated Press)