|
|
| Youth prisons to stop use of extended isolation |
| By Los Angeles Times |
| Published: 08/05/2004 |
|
Ending a practice dubbed inhumane by critics, the director of the California Youth Authority said Wednesday that young inmates who misbehave will no longer be isolated 23 hours a day in barren segregation cells. Walter Allen III offered no details of how prison officers will manage troublesome youths who are now sent to special detention units and deprived of all privileges for an average of 60 to 90 days. But after members of the Senate Rules Committee called the practice of near-round-the-clock confinement in 6-by-8-foot cells barbaric, Allen said that, "As of today ... it is over." "We are going to change our way of doing business," Allen said. "We're going to change the conditions of confinement." Allen's comments came as the committee met to consider whether to confirm him as director of the troubled CYA, which houses 4,300 inmates in 11 prisons and camps on an annual budget of about $391 million. After an hourlong hearing, the panel voted 4 to 0 to endorse his appointment by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The committee's action means that Allen, 54, is all but certain to win endorsement by the full Senate soon. Attorneys who have demanded an end to the 23-hour-a-day confinement said they were encouraged by Allen's announcement, but uncertain what change it would bring. "If he means that kids are no longer going to be locked up for very long, both in terms of hours in their cell and number of days, then it's a good thing," said Donald Specter of the Prison Law Office, a nonprofit firm that has sued the state over conditions in the CYA. "But you have to have some plan to deal with inmates creating problems. The question is, will their approach be punitive or therapeutic?" |
Comments:
Login to let us know what you think
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Last night my friend asked me to play minesweeper free online games as these games are puzzle games of mine and numbers. Overall it was an great experience.