Article author:
Associated Press
Jacques Billeaud
Phoenix (AP) — Arizona has inadequate medical and mental health care for people in state prisons, how many years in the state He knew about the problem for a while, but said he refused to correct the failure.
In a fierce verdict on Thursday, Judge Rosslyn Silver of the U.S. District Court said state inaction was acting "intentionally indifferent" to the risk of inadequate care. He said the state had adopted a medical system for prisoners. It led to preventable death.
She does not have enough health care workers to care for about 25,000 imprisoned people in state prisons, and correctional authorities have personnel. He said he had not made significant attempts to solve the shortage problem.
Judges put sufficient pressure on state prison medical contractors to improve the placement of business staff, and prisoners often have more access to medical services than non-confined people. He criticized David Shinn, the director of the correction department, for his testimony.
In state prisons, Shin's claim of high access to care is "completely separated from reality," Silver writes. "Given the overwhelming evidence and repeated cases of inadequate care leading to suffering and death, Defendant Singh would not have believed that prisoners had the same access to care as the people in the community."
According to the ruling, prisoners do not have timely access to emergency treatment, medication, treatment of chronic illnesses, and specialized medical care. In the current system, nurses are the first and often the only medical professionals to meet prisoners. From time to time, nurses who may not be well trained to diagnose and treat a given condition are missing out on obvious signs that should lead to referrals to higher level providers, Silver. Wrote.
Judges are expected to order relief in response to unconstitutional law. A lawyer representing the prisoners had previously requested Silver to establish a trustee for the court to take over medical services in state prisons and appoint staff to operate those services there.
The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Re-Immigration, which denied allegations of inadequate care in the past, did not immediately comment on the decision on Friday. rice field.
C. J Karamargin, a spokesman for Governor Doug Ducey, who hired Shin, said the state had no plans to appeal yet. "This is a long decision and we are currently analyzing it closely," said Karamargin.
Corin Kendrick, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union who represented prisoners in this case, said that Silver has the basics that prisoners are entitled to basic medical care under the Eighth Amendment. He said he confirmed the principle.
"The ministry has waived its constitutional responsibilities and provides minimal protection to detained people," Kendrick said.
The case was brought to justice late last year after Silver threw a six-year-old reconciliation over prison medical care. handle. Mr Silver also said that $ 2.5 million for contempt of court against the state did not motivate authorities to comply with the settlement.
Singh wrote a letter to a state prison medical contractor in February 2020 after Silver threatened to impose yet another derogatory fine, even though the state met the care requirements of the settlement. He said he hopes to provide sufficient resources. The fix director also wrote that the company would be hooked on the costs associated with the breach.
In Thursday's ruling, Silver accused Shin of not knowing if the contractor had relocated staff within Arizona.
"The only possible conclusion is that Defendant Singh had little interest in changing the underlying reality," Silver wrote. "Rather, his letter seems to have been a half-hearted effort to create a piece of paper that can be quoted to avoid contempt. Obviously, the court is more than Shin's signing the letter. I expected to take direct action. "
In the past, similar trustees proposed by prisoners in Arizona were ordered from prisons in other states, including California.
In 2005, a federal judge took control of California's prison medical system after discovering that an average of one prisoner died from medical negligence or malpractice each week. did. Operation in individual prisons has gradually been returned to state responsibility, but he has appointed prisoners to maintain control of the health system.
In a proceeding in California that prompted a change and a similar proceeding over inadequate mental health treatment of prisoners, a committee of judges said that record prison congestion was a constitutional standard. Declared that it is impossible to improve the condition.
Judges say California dramatically reduces the number of people in prison as the state eases criminal penalties, keeps low-level criminals in county prisons, and increases opportunities for parole. We have set an upper limit on the prison population.