ATLANTA, Georgia, Feb 21, 2012 (IPS) - Budget constraints combined with exploding prison populations are prompting a number of U.S. states, including some of in the politically conservative south, to rethink their criminal codes.
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(Thompson, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 4/19) |
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California should create an independent board to monitor prison health care after federal oversight ends, according to a report released Thursday by the Legislative Analyst's Office, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports. |
Background
About six years ago, U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson appointed J. Clark Kelso to oversee the state's prison health care system after determining that an average of one inmate per week died as a
result of malpractice or neglect.
In May 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its inmate population to help improve health care.
Since then, the state has begun shifting low-level offenders to county jails to address prison overcrowding and building new health facilities at prisons.
In January, Henderson said the federal receivership overseeing California's prison health care can end because the state has improved inmate care (California Healthline, 2/24).
LAO released the new report less than two weeks before state officials and attorneys representing inmates are scheduled to recommend to a federal judge whether the receivership should end and
whether the state should maintain oversight of prison health care.
By Ashley Lopez | 01.31.12 | 8:27 am
Pic by Smithers7, via Wikimedia Commons
Even though a judge struck down the state’s plans to privatize prisons in some regions of the state last year, the Legislature has fast-tracked bills this session to allow them to take another stab at last year’s plans. In just a few weeks the state’s plans have passed through two committees and are ready for a floor vote.
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KARNES CITY, Texas (AP) – A 608-bed facility unveiled Tuesday in Texas represents what federal officials say is a centerpiece of the Obama administration's pledge to overhaul America's much-maligned system for jailing immigration offenders.