March 23, 2011
Feds ends oversight of Madrid lawsuit
A legal case that lasted more than two decades and brought systemic changes to California's prison system has ended. On Monday, a federal judge determined the state corrections department had made sufficient reforms to protect inmates from being abused by guards.
Those reforms stemmed from a class-action lawsuit filed in 1990 over claims of widespread physical abuse, poor medical and mental health care, and appalling conditions in the prison’s notorious security housing unit. The case exposed widespread abuses and forced major reforms within California prisons. The changes include policies that limit guards’ use of force and protections for mentally ill inmates. The lawsuit also prompted the state to create an independent inspector general in the corrections department and an office to oversee investigations of alleged employee wrongdoing...
LINK - KQED.org
