As a part of their compliance with a new the newly outlined policies by the state's corrections officials, correctional facilities across the state of California will be shifting prisoners who are currently in solitary confinement and moving them into special isolation units that are designed to make sure that they will be receiving proper treatment that addresses their needs according to their specific psychiatric illnesses.
According to the state and federal statistics, there were around 20% of all of California's correctional population has been diagnosed with some type of mental illness. Experts have reason to believe that putting these prisoners in solitary confinement does not benefit the person and only aggravates their mental condition.
On April 10 of this year, a ruling was passed by a US federal judge who said that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was in violation of the fundamental rights of these mentally ill prisoners. Evidences were uncovered suggesting that these mentally ill inmates were being subjected to excessive punishment. There were even video footages showing how these prisoners were screaming as their guards subjected them to pepper spray. This resulted to the judge filing for the policy initiatives, putting them in place to make sure that no further violations are committed.
In compliance with the federal order, correctional facilities will be mandated to create specialty units that can cater to short-term and long-term detainment for over 2,000 inmates with mental issues who need to be pulled out from the general population receive disciplinary action. Corrections officials will also be completing case reviews of specific inmates who have spent several periods of time in segregation to try and decrease the time they spend in solitary confinement. The new protocols include easier access to mental health experts, more time for recreation, and risk assessment for prisoners with advanced mental illnesses or those who have suicidal tendencies.
