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| Brain-dead prison inmate is granted an early release |
| By Los Angeles Times |
| Published: 02/17/2005 |
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In a move they called exceedingly rare, California prison officials Monday granted an early release to an inmate who was shot last month by a correctional officer and has been declared brain-dead. Daniel Provencio, 28, has been connected to a ventilator and feeding tubes in a Bakersfield hospital since Jan. 16, when he was struck in the head by a foam projectile. Under an agreement between the Department of Corrections and the inmate's family, Provencio was discharged from custody although he had about five months left to serve. Relatives had hoped to transfer him closer to their Ventura County homes, but they acknowledged Monday that he was too fragile to move and that other hospitals had declined to accept him. "Because of his condition, nobody will take him," Provencio's brother, Johnny, said. "Nobody is willing to do anything for him." A spokesman for the prison system said Provencio's medical care, which had been paid by the Department of Corrections, probably would be covered by Medi-Cal. By late Monday afternoon, an officer was no longer standing near Provencio's hospital bed. The inmate had been guarded around the clock as part of a Department of Corrections policy. "We finally found a solution that the hospital, family members and the department can all live with," Corrections Department spokesman Todd Slosek said. The shooting at Wasco State Prison, a 6,100-inmate lockup near Bakersfield, remains under investigation by the department and state Inspector General Matt Cate. The case has sparked interest among prison reformers, legislators and others because it raises questions about how corrections officials handle brain-dead inmates whose families are not ready to say goodbye. In addition, critics have expressed concerns about the department's policy of requiring that prisoners in community hospitals be guarded 24 hours a day by at least one correctional officer. For Provencio, that requirement cost $1,056 per day. The department could not immediately provide the cost of his medical care. Earlier this month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called guarding brain-dead and comatose inmates "ludicrous" at a meeting with the editorial board of the San Jose Mercury News. Schwarzenegger said the state needs to "tighten the screw so we don't have this misuse of money. And instead of having these two guys standing there 24 hours a day guarding this guy that is in a coma, why not have these two guys working somewhere else where they really are needed." Corrections officials said the policy, which was designed to protect hospital staff, other patients and the inmates, was under review. They said that in many cases, the state's contract with community hospitals requires such protection. |
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