July 9, 2009
Newspaper slams CDCR & Gov over prison crisis
Considering the shameful foot-dragging that California has already demonstrated when it comes to fulfilling a federal court order to improve health and mental health care for prison inmates, the governor's recent rejection of a plan to build two prison hospitals should come as no surprise.
The plan, hammered out by federal court-appointed receiver J. Clark Kelso and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Matthew Cate, seemed workable when it was announced last month. It called for building two prison hospitals — one in Northern California, the other in Southern California — to house 3,400 inmates. The $1.9 billion price tag would be paid from already-approved bonds designated for prison construction.
The plan was pared significantly from an $8 billion attention-getting proposal put forth by the receiver, who for months couldn't even get prison officials to sit down and talk with him about what was needed. The ploy worked, and the two-hospital solution was the result…
LINK - TheReporter.com
