The purpose of prisons is to punish sick people
AP Photo - Richard Carreiro died of Hepatitis at the age of 61 after many years of suffering in prison. Harsh laws such as three strikes, Jessica's law and now Prop 9 cause an expensive, elderly population. How do taxpayers benefit from these practices? At least half the prisoners have a life threatening disease. At least 40% have Hepatitis.
- AP Photo - Richard Carreiro died of Hepatitis at the age of 61 after many years of suffering in prison. Harsh laws such as three strikes, Jessica's law and now Prop 9 cause an expensive, elderly population. How do taxpayers benefit from these practices? At least half the prisoners have a life threatening disease. At least 40% have Hepatitis.
- Nancy Provencio breaks down on the casket of her young son Danny who was shot with a hard rubber bullet by a Wasco prison guard. Danny Provencio was in prison on a minor parole violation. After being shot, he was brain dead, yet shackled, for several weeks before he died. This case embarrassed the legislators and prompted them to sign AB 1539. Two years after its enactment, the law is still not being used to release dying prisoners.
- Mark Grangetto was born with brain damage. When he had a motorcycle wreck in a case where the jury could not even determine who was driving, Grangetto was given a life sentence. Several lawsuits have been filed and are still in courts over how the prison system treated his brain damage as a psychosis. He is a diabetic, has hepatitis and is totally unable to care for himself. His mother can afford his care, but the state will not release him.
- The women's prisons are full of elderly inmates whose family members are willing to care for them. Expensive prison guards stand over sick people four shifts a day. Overtime alone is costing $40 million per month, this does not include salaries or the need to build more multi-million dollar prisons due to overcrowding.
- There are approximately 4,500 quadriplegic, paraplegic, brain-dead, frail elderly terminally ill who could be released under AB 1539 but the State is refusing to do it. At least $1 billion could be saved. The people must change the laws and prevent those candidates who are taking money from law enforcement labor unions from ever being elected in the first place. Those without families to take them should be put into nursing facilities
- Family members of dead, dying and permanently incapacitated inmates beg for mercy for their ailing loved ones outside the Plata hearing on Nov 21, 2008, The mothers of United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect have no place to go for help and are being denied visits to prison hospitals, even as their loved ones are dying. Read the summaries at http://www.1union1.com/about_UNION.htm
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