Even if an inmate's sentence is not oppressively long, their treatment while incarcerated can still constitute subhuman treatment. Prisons are not medical facilities, but they regularly are forced to deal with mental health problems and care for elderly and terminally ill inmates. Food, if it's even edible, usually lacks enough nutrition for inmates' health to not deteriorate. Plus, with a lack of opportunities to see family, read, or gain skill sets, inmates are placed in buildings which lack any resemblance of the civilized world.
“For months, activist groups have protested the expansion, arguing the county should be more focused on reducing and aiding its existing inmate population rather than planning for its growth. Asantewaa Boykin, co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project, told the board at its Tuesday meeting “handcuffs are not therapeutic, forced compliance does not equal wellness.”“
Sacramento Bee
November 7, 2019
Read More“Released Tuesday, the $4.4 billion spending plan is a 2.4 percent increase from last year’s budget, with county departments angling to get about $33.1 million for new or improved programs. The staff budget also recommends about $43 million in cuts, mostly by eliminating vacant positions. No layoffs are proposed. “
Sacramento Bee
June 4, 2019
Read More"Six prisoners in Sacramento County’s jails filed a federal class action lawsuit today, claiming that jail conditions do not meet minimum standards under the U.S. Constitution and federal law. The lawsuit asserts that the County’s jails are overcrowded and dangerously understaffed, and that they fail to provide adequate mental health and medical care."
Disability Rights California
July 31, 2018
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