California Ordered To Pay Billions For New Prison Medical And Mental Health Facilities
October 7, 2008 by Alicia Sparks, Mental Health Notes
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
So, apparently U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson has manned up and told officials out in California that court-appointed receiver J. Clark Kelso was serious when he said they needed to hand over $8 billion for seven new medical facilities for prison inmates. (I first commented on this situation back in June; at that time, however, news sources reported the figure as $7 billion.)
Kelso needs the first $250 million to start planning three medical and mental health units, and then another $3 billion before July to start building them.
I’m no expert, but I’m willing to bet California isn’t the only state in desperate need of updated medical and mental health facilities.
I mean, really: Unless you’re a hot prison inmate named Michael Scofield with with a hot prison doctor named Sara Tancredi who agrees to throw away her career in order to help bust your thuggish but nevertheless innocent older brother out of the joint, then join you on a cross-continental mission to bring down some pseudo-government agency, the prison health care system is notorious for sucking.
Sucks so bad it does that an average of one prison inmate a week dies in California due to neglect or malpractice. That is outrageous.
I read somewhere, not too long ago, that California was experiencing some serious budget cuts in health care and education. (I can’t quote this, so feel free to clear it up if you know of any specifics.) If so, and given the entire nation’s current economic woes, I wonder how this additional $8 billion is going to impact the state.
Probably not as severely as potential lawsuits undoubtedly will if these deaths continue.
Image: SXC
You are forgetting,that the states neglect of prisoners & prisons,has been on going for decades~it is a necessary & correct move for Judge Henderson to make~~he gave the Gov.and legislators many opportunities to cure~they have not~the families of inmates,have been robbed over & over again,they too are taxpayers,this will impose a triple hardship for them as well~but lives will be saved,and the needless deaths of human beings, will be stopped~if the state had listened to the endless cries of families,whose loved ones have died,or of those who are dying now~~we would not be in this mess~~The attorney general is clueless,he is another one who did nothing to save lives~~inmate families have been destroyed and it continues~~Our State government has robbed us all,through deceit & trickery,continuing to ban the media,of going into prisons~~so the public will never find out the truth~~but families passion and love,brought the truth to light,and gained the attention & credibility, of the media,so its no longer one sided,underhanded information,coming only from corrupt prison administrators~~the public has the right to know,all the sides and true facts~~~
VOTE NO PROPS 6 & 9
Yes on prop 5
EDUCATION NOT INCARCERATION !!!
@ weRalldoingtime – Thanks for chiming in. I assure you, it’s not something I’ve forgotten. Many people mistakenly believe that 1) because they’re inmates, they don’t deserve proper health care, or 2) the government is taking care of everyone. Committing a crime (or, being convicted of committing a crime) does not mean a person should be subject to neglect or malpractice, and no one should just assume the government is going to make sure everything’s in order.