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| California Youth Authority Sued |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 02/04/2002 |
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Disability and prisoner-rights advocates sued the California Youth Authority last week, alleging it inhumanely treats juvenile and young adult wards of the state. Between 6,000 and 7,000 wards, age 12 to 25, live in the system's 11 facilities. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, claims the wards are kept in filthy, outdated facilities, are frequently drugged and assaulted and are denied education and mental health care. It also claims that wards with disabilities are not adequately accommodated. 'Many of more than 6,000 youth live in constant fear of beatings or rapes,'' said Richard Ulmer, attorney with a San Francisco law firm that brought the lawsuit. George Kostyrko, a spokesman for the youth authority, said the lawsuit's allegations are old and the authority has been working to fix any problems. Last year, the state agreed to pay $165,000 to settle a lawsuit by a ward who alleged that a youth facility teacher kept her as a concubine. In 2000, the director of the system resigned following a state investigation that found numerous long-standing abuses at the Stark Youth Correctional Facility, including the beating and drugging of inmates. The investigation prompted Gov. Gray Davis to order the authority to review its policies on the use of force and psychotropic medications. The lawsuit claims the authority still uses the questioned practices and is not living up to its mission to rehabilitate wards. The lawsuit asks that courts order changes in how the authority operates, but does not seek monetary damages. |
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