Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/350405
ByDonThompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO California can once again send sick inmates to an $839 mil- lion prison medical com- plex that was closed ear- lier this year amid staffing, supply and other problems at the site intended to help end years of federal court oversight, an overseer said Monday. J. Clark Kelso, a court- appointed official who con- trols prison medical care, said he was pleased that most problems have been corrected at the Califor- nia Health Care Facility in Stockton and his office will keep monitoring the facil- ity to make sure progress continues. The facility opened in July 2013 with Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard saying the state's invest- ment should prove to fed- eral judges that California is serious about improving its care of physically and mentally ill inmates. Previous conditions were so poor that federal judges demanded a drastic and ongoing reduction of the prison population. Kelso abruptly halted ad- missions in January while citing serious, systemic is- sues. He said in a January re- port to the federal judge overseeing prison medical care that one of the biggest problems was the inability to provide adequate med- ical and personal hygiene supplies to housing units. He also cited other prob- lems, including failure to provide nursing staff with appropriate keys to cells and other spaces, inade- quate clinical staffing, and a variety of failures to pro- vide appropriate accommo- dations for inmates with disabilities. Kelso said an outbreak of scabies likely resulted from inadequate hygiene supplies. Supplies are now read- ily available and the facil- ity has increased staff and training, he said. Don Specter, director of the nonprofit Prison Law Office in Berkeley, said con- ditions are much better but more work is needed. "I don't think there's any disagreement that Stock- ton is not functioning as it's supposed to. There are still substantial improvements that need to be made," said Specter, whose firm suc- cessfully sued the state over poor prison medical care. One of Specter's fellow lawyers toured the facil- ity last week and reported finding that medical re- cords were difficult to re- view, there was a delay in processing inmates' com- plaints, and employees were still drafting policies and procedures to solve some of the ongoing problems. Specter said his firm will watch inmates' care to see if the additional admissions make things worse. The halt in admissions derailed the state's ability to meet its first court-ordered target of June for reducing prison crowding. State officials had counted on the 2,951 beds in the medical complex and a recently opened $177 mil- lion annex as they moved to reduce the overall popula- tion of the state's 34 adult prisons. However, a panel of three judges ruled that they could only count about half of the Stockton beds until Kelso allowed admissions to resume. The state now has until Aug. 31 to meet the initial deadline and until Febru- ary 2016 to further reduce crowding as a way to im- prove the care of physically and mentally ill inmates under court orders upheld twice by the U.S. Supreme Court. Gov. Jerry Brown in- cluded $12.4 million in this fiscal year's budget to help correct problems at the Stockton facility. That includes hiring 106 addi- tional employees, includ- ing 77 guards. The facility currently employs about 2,500 med- ical staff and guards, but a consultant recently recom- mended that the receiver add more than 400 doctors, nurses, medical and psychi- atric technicians and other medical staff. Some of those additional employees have already been hired. Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the re- ceiver, said it is unclear how many more employees will be transferred from other prison medical facilities and how many will have to be hired. PRISONS Offi ci al : Ca li fo rn ia c an s en d in ma te s to m ed ic al s it e RICHPEDRONCELLI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Correctional Officer Stella Miles stands in one of the secure inmate-patient housing units of the new California Correctional Health Care Facility in Stockton in 2013. By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown has approved re- ducing the maximum pen- alty for a misdemeanor by one day, but the change he signed into law on Monday is expected to significantly reduce the number of legal immigrants who can be de- ported for lesser crimes. Federal law allows legal immigrants to be deported if they are given a sentence of oneyearormore.ButCalifor- nia law defines misdemean- ors as crimes qualifying for jail terms of a year or less. SB1310 reduces the max- imum penalty for misde- meanors to 364 days to con- form to the federal law. "Amazingly, the fact that it's 364 means it's not an ag- gravated felony under fed- eral law," said Steven Rease, a criminal defense attorney in Monterey County. "It's a very small change in terms of 365, 364, but it's going to make all the difference in the world to a legal im- migrant...whose chances of deportation are greatly re- duced." Rease is co-chairman of the legislative commit- tee of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, which represents defense attor- neys and sought the change in state law. He estimated the change could affect thousands of people in California, based on the scores of cases he has seen mainly among farm workers in his county who have been convicted of mis- demeanors for things like writing bad checks. The Coalition for Hu- mane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles also projected the change could affect thousands of immigrants in California. It estimated that more than 100,000 children legally residing in the United States had a par- ent deported for a misde- meanor crime between 1997 and 2007. It said similar le- gal changes have been ad- opted by Nevada and Wash- ington state. "While the federal gov- ernment continues to turn a blind eye to our broken im- migration system, Califor- nia continues to advance state legislation to ensure aspiring citizens are inte- grated into our fabric in- stead of being in the shad- ows," the group's policy and advocacy director, Joseph Villela, said in a statement. There was no organized opposition to the bill by Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens. It had bipartisan support, passing the Senate on a 31-4 vote and clearing the Assembly 68-1. Lara said the existing law can result in deporta- tion even if the immigrant had most of a yearlong sen- tence suspended and served only a few days in jail. Under the Illegal Immi- gration Reform and Immi- grant Responsibility Act of 1996, those convicted of aggravated felonies as de- fined in federal law can be deported without a hearing and with no chance to ap- peal. They also face tougher criminal penalties if they return to the United States illegally. The conviction can also make them ineligible for asylum or citizenship. The bill, which will take effect. Jan. 1, does not af- fect deportations of those who are in the country ille- gally nor of those convicted of committing felonies un- der California law. SACRAMENTO Governor signs legislation reducing deportations for minor crimes | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2014 8 A