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CDC Comatose Inmate Policies Under Fire… Again
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April 20, 2005 - It seems that even with everything else going on in the world, the California Department of Corrections is still the prize target of the media, as it continues to hang on to this story like a junkyard dog with a bone. Appearing in papers across the country and online this week, a report titled "California Spending Millions to Guard Comatose Inmates" made the rounds.
It is well scripted and versed, angled dead set against CDC, CCPOA and correctional officers as individuals, typical of today's anti-law enforcement media:
"California stands out as the only state where comatose inmates are shackled and guarded - often on overtime - for months or longer at community hospitals outside prison walls.
"Elsewhere in the nation, unconscious inmates are treated and guarded in prison hospitals or high-security wings of private health care facilities, sometimes watched by lower-cost security guards. Or they are medically paroled, sometimes to nursing homes as a way to save taxpayer dollars…
"Questions of how California cares for inmates with severely damaged brains sparked a lively debate at [a recent prison oversight] hearing. Corrections officials disclosed that for several years they have been struggling to write a legal form in which inmates can spell out whether they want to remain on life-support should they become comatose. Without a clear policy, critics contend, cases are not handled in a uniform manner."
Those arguing against the policy have stated that 24-hour guard surveillance of comatose inmates is "ludicrous" and "wasteful spending," alluding that CCPOA - called "the well-connected prison guard union" in this article - is behind this policy. They maintain that despite the Governor's push to make changes within the Department, this practice alone shows that the priority is to "maintain tough security" and to "reward the correctional officers union with coveted jobs."
Lance Corcoran, Executive Vice President of CCPOA in Sacramento told the press that there is no agreement between the state and the union about medical guarding. He said, "There's nothing that CCPOA has done that's created a financial burden for the state of California."
CDC Officials told the press that they were continuing to "examine the guarding policy" in the wake of recent cases reported in the media. A spokesman for CDC, Todd Slosek, told reporters that by law they are obligated to guard inmates in this manner unless a judge tells them to do differently. "We have very limited options in decision making," said Slosek. "Unless we know the inmate's condition is believed to be terminal. And even if a compassionate release is recommended, public safety will always be the determining factor."
Jeffrey Schwartz, a critic of CDC policy, and a court-appointed expert on prison and jail reform stated that he felt that the policy was developed by or for the union, rather than reflecting upon the needs of the state or the needs of the inmates and their families. However, quite the opposite is true… CCPOA officials maintain that the handling of comatose inmates is up to the department - but agrees with the department that there are a variety of reasons to keep guard on inmates, even while in a vegetative state.
By law, Correctional Officers are charged with the responsibility to protect the inmates while they are in their care, this extends to protecting them from enemies that may seek out the inmate while in hospital care - and to prevent family members from staging a jailbreak from the hospital. In addition to this, Correctional Officers are also charged with protecting the public - and other hospital patients have a right to be protected from these inmates as well.
Sources: www.mercurynews.com, www.ccpoa.org.
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