In 2009 that the California prison system was found to be overcrowded resulting in inmates being denied adequate medical care, including treatment for mental illness. California was ordered to reduce the number of prisoners in the state, but appealed the court’s ruling. The Supreme Court upheld the original ruling that ordered California to reduce the state’s inmate population by thousands of prisoners. Governor Jerry Brown’s solution was to ship prisoners to out-of-state facilities. Click here to go to website
Fast forward to 2013 where the Los Angeles Times reports that the California prison population is still vastly over capacity and that Governor Jerry Brown may face contempt charges. Click here to go to website
As Reentry Central has posted in the past, prisons have become dumping grounds for the mentally ill. The Huff Post reports that the Court found that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has failed to prove that it is providing “the level of care required by the U.S. Constitution for the state's more than 32,000 mentally ill inmates.” The federal government refuses to relinquish its control over mental health treatment for inmates, prompting Brown to claim he will appeal that decision.
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