CONTRA COSTA, CA - County Jail inmate Mary Cagle, 59, says she suffered for seven days with a staph infection before she was put in the hospital. Asthmatic Julia Robertson, 49, says she went three weeks without an inhaler. Sandie Swenson, 41, says she got the wrong medication. Laurel Smith, 38, says she got the wrong dose.

Sick and injured women in Contra Costa County jails say they are refused doctor appointments, denied essential health equipment, and denied prescription drugs, given them inconsistently or substituted a different class of medication, as in one case in which the jail issued an anti-inflammatory instead of a muscle relaxant.

"You're told if you don't like the treatment then don't come to jail," said Laura Aravelo, 43, an inmate with disc damage who says she goes through withdrawal every time her painkiller patch runs out. "It's degrading." Read more.

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