>
>Here are just some of the abuses detailed in the reports:
> * youth locked in 23-hour-a-day solitary confinement without
> cause - for months on end;
> * youth locked in four-by-four cages during class time;
> * epidemic violence, often instigated by guards (further
> confirmed by the recent video showing guards beating two unarmed young
wards);
> * rampant sexual assault and harassment;
> * abuse of pepper spray and mace on wards;
> * virtually non-existent care for wards with mental health or
> substance abuse problems (8- to 19-month waiting periods for service);
> * shocking negligence in medical care, especially emergency care; and
> * an atmosphere of constant intimidation, fear and violence.
[WS:] That is terrible. And what is being done about it? We had recently a few cases of that sort in MD, but they ware mostly in juvenile detention facilities i.e. kids being sent there for crimes they committed, but the reaction of the authorities was swift. They closed these facilities and an investigation is under way. But then, we have a liberal Democrat for governor - not the Repug "governator." :)
BTW, prosecuting these cases is not easy. We recently had a case of narcotic cops blackmailing small time users in a sex-for-dropped charges scheme. It was so bad that prosecution had to drop dozens of cases investigated by these officers. The case went to a trial, but the cop was acquitted by the "jury of peers" to the general public outcry (albeit other cases against him are still pending.) In this particular case it was not the system. The system actually reacted the way it was supposed to, but the stupid law-and-order citizens did not. But the truth is that people here are so fed up with crime that they are willing to give cops a lot of leeway.
Wojtek