Guardian: 10 CA Prisoners sue over confinement
I wonder what Europeans think when the read of the inhumane treatment of others in America.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/may/31/california-prison-lawsuit-solitary-confinement
(I'm just posting some of the paragraphs in the article. I grew up CA knew these prisons were/are evil and make our state and our society worse)
Prisoners challenge legality of solitary confinement lasting more than a decade
Complaint filed on behalf of 10 men held in solitary confinement at California's Pelican Bay state prison for a decade or more
On Thursday the Center for Constitutional Rights and a team of California attorneys filed a complaint (pdf) on behalf of 10 men housed at Pelican Bay state prison, California's most restrictive correctional facility, designed to house the so-called "worst of the worst".
"California is unique in the sense that its use of solitary confinement is really rampant," said Alexis Agathocleous, an attorney representing the prisoners. "There is just no other state in the country that consistently retains so many prisoners in solitary confinement for such long periods."
Though home to just 5% of the global population, the US houses a quarter of the planet's prisoners, with the largest concentration in California.
California's high number of inmates has exacerbated the problem of violent prison gangs, which last year were linked to 1,759 homicides, attempted homicides and violent attacks on staff members or other inmates.
The lives of Pelican Bay's SHU prisoners are severely isolated. The men spend no less than 22 hours each day confined to a 8 x 10" cell. Communication is strictly limited. Simply greeting a validated gang member or associate in passing can be used as evidence of gang affiliation. One of the plaintiffs, Luis Esquivel, claims he has not shaken another person's hand in 13 years and fears he has forgotten the feeling of human contact.
Plaintiff Todd Ashker says he was only able to speak to his mother twice in the 22 years he has been in the SHU. She has since died.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Reyes – sentenced to 25 years to life after burglarizing an uninhabited building – was allegedly denied a telephone call home when his stepfather died because he had been allowed a telephone call months earlier when his biological father passed away. Reyes has not hugged his daughters in nearly two decades.
"California places prisoners in solitary confinement for decades upon decades based only on allegations of gang affiliation, not gang-related violence," he said.
George Ruiz, a 69-year-old prisoner who has been in solitary confinement since 1984. Convicted of robbery and kidnapping in 1981, Ruiz has been disciplined once in the last 25 years for violating a prison rule; "mail violation with no security threat."
"This is a guy with relatively minimal disciplinary history, certainly not somebody you would expect to be locked up in solitary confinement for 25 years, yet there he is,
"Segregation, isolation, separation, cellular, lockdown, Supermax, the hole, Secure Housing Unit… whatever the name, solitary confinement should be banned by States as a punishment or extortion technique," Juan E. Méndez told the UN's third committee. Citing studies on the mental health impacts of solitary confinement, Méndez said isolation that lasted more than 15 days should be absolutely prohibited.
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Yet people think CA is liberal... what a joke. The people of CA are responsible for the treatment of their fellow citizens.
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