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Mental Health Crisis in California’s Lock-Ups Worsens With COVID-19
by Ed Lyon
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has been challenged regarding care for its mentally ill prisoners for decades. Rather than improve under a class action lawsuit dating back to 1990 (now Plata v. Newsom) and seeking constitutionally acceptable mental health care for …
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More from this issue:
- Milestone: Thirty Years of Prison Legal News and the Human Rights Defense Center, by Paul Wright
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Texas Jail Prisoner’s Death, by Matthew Clarke
- Denied Medical Care During Pandemic, New Jersey Prisoner Treats Infected Wound With Bleach, by Dale Chappell
- Ninth Circuit: No Summary Judgment for Prison Officials Who Allegedly Allowed Attack on Nevada Prisoner, by David Reutter
- Lives at Stake as Pennsylvania County De-privatizes Prison, by David Reutter
- Coronavirus: A Second Wave of Infection, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio Loses Another Arizona Republican Primary, by Matthew Clarke
- Eleventh Circuit Vacates COVID-19 Injunction Against Miami Jail, by David Reutter
- Nebraska Declares Overcrowding Emergency in State Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
- Federal Judge Rules Prisoners Eligible for $1,200 Stimulus Checks; Application Deadline Extended to Nov. 21 for Online Filing, by Derek Gilna
- Fourth Circuit: Opening of Detainee’s Legal Mail Outside His Presence Violates Right to Free Speech, by David Reutter
- California Prison Guards Keep Jobs After Aiding Attacks on Sex Offenders, by Jayson Hawkins
- Texas: Prison Air Conditioning Needs Revisiting, by Edward Lyon
- Efforts to Keep COVID-19 Out of Montana Prisons Fuels Outbreaks in County Jails, by Alex Sakariassen
- Denial of Recruitment of Counsel for Wisconsin Prisoner Affirmed by Seventh Circuit, by David Reutter
- DOJ Finds Frequent Use of Excessive Force in Alabama Prisons, by David Reutter
- Third Circuit: District Court Erred in Ruling Against Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Civil Rights Complaint, by David Reutter
- Two-Thirds of Nevada Prisoners Confined in Arizona Private Prison Test Positive for COVID-19, by Mark Wilson
- New Jersey Guard Acquitted in Sex Scandal, by David Reutter
- Washington Prisoner’s State Public Records Act Lawsuit Results in His Freedom and $111,194 Award, by Matthew Clarke
- North Carolina Temporarily Closes Three Prisons for Lack of Guards; Final One Reopens During COVID-19 Pandemic, by Edward Lyon
- Second Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Connecticut Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Lawsuit, by Matthew Clarke
- $225,000 Windfall in Lehigh County, Pa. But Officials Don’t Cut Jail Phone Costs, by David Reutter
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Loses Part of Leg, Wins Appeal in Precedential Grievance Process Case, by David Reutter
- Private Prison Industry Ramped Up Campaign Contributions, Favoring Republicans, by Derek Gilna
- Florida Spent $1.7 Million, and Counting, to Impede Felon Voting Rights, by David Reutter
- Investment Firm Buys Corizon, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.25 Million Settlement Against Tennessee County Over Sheriff’s Violations of Labor Law, by Douglas Ankney
- Violence at New York City’s Rikers Island Jail Increasing Even as Population Falls, by Edward Lyon
- Ankle Monitor Shortage at Chicago Jail Put Prisoner Releases During COVID in Limbo, by David Reutter
- Failed Michigan Jail Site to Host Innovation Center, by David Reutter
- Second Circuit: Denial of Exercise Over Four Months Defeats Summary Judgment, by David Reutter
- Report: Screening Failures Cited in COVID-19 Outbreak in California Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
- Rikers Island Death Case Against City of New York Settles for $5.5 Million, by Derek Gilna
- ICE Detainees Pepper-Sprayed Over Hunger Strike, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Families of 4 Alabama Prisoners Who Committed Suicide File Federal Lawsuit Against Prison Officials, by Matthew Clarke
- Eleventh Circuit: Florida’s Treatment Plan for Hepatitis C-Positive Prisoners Constitutional, by David Reutter
- Connecticut: Summary Judgment Denied in Deliberate Indifference Case Where Facial Lesion Turned Out To Be Skin Cancer, by Chad Marks
- Sixth Circuit Reverses and Allows Ohio Prisoner’s Civil Rights Lawsuit to Proceed, by David Reutter
- Fourth Circuit Orders Sealing of North Carolina Court’s Order to “Protect Defendant from Harm”, by David Reutter
- Mental Health Crisis in California’s Lock-Ups Worsens With COVID-19, by Edward Lyon
- Temporary Halt of Federal Prison Labor at National Parks, but New Policy Proposed To Resume It, by Jayson Hawkins
- Native Americans Protest Theft of Alcatraz Island, by Edward Lyon
- $70,000 Settlement in Private Firm’s Failure to Treat Arizona Prisoner’s Broken Wrist, by David Reutter
- Guard Violates Eighth Amendment by Brandishing Knife and Threatening Prisoner’s Life, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Dismisses Summary Judgment for Defendants in Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Over Beating, Choking, by David Reutter
- HRDC Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Colorado Sheriff for Censorship of Prisoner Publications, by Derek Gilna
- Captain Accused of Abusing Mentally Ill Prisoners Cleared in Internal Investigation, by Kevin Bliss
- New York City BOP Prisoner Dies After Being Pepper-Sprayed, by Kevin Bliss
- Former Pennsylvania Prison All Solitary with Silence Mandatory, by Edward Lyon
- Alabama Executes Non-Shooter in Police Killings, by David Reutter
- Former Angola Warden Burl Cain Appointed Head of Mississippi Prison System, by Matthew Clarke
- Massachusetts Jail Phone Cost Reductions Under Attack, by Edward Lyon
- News in Brief
More from Edward Lyon:
- “There you go, Agent Orange!” Former South Carolina Sheriff Federally Indicted for Assaulting Jail Detainee, May 1, 2024
- Texas Prisons are Fire Traps, July 15, 2023
- The World’s Biggest Prison, July 15, 2023
- U.S. Prisoner Numbers Slowly Declining, June 15, 2023
- Civilian Police With Military Equipment, June 15, 2023
- California Easing Housing Hurdles for Released Prisoners, June 1, 2023
- Warden Ousted from Troubled Alabama Prison After DUI Arrest, May 1, 2023
- $20,000 Settlement for Ohio Prisoner’s Slip-and-Fall Injury, May 1, 2023
- $32,500 Medical Malpractice Award to Ohio Prisoner for Ripped-Out Catheter, May 1, 2023
- New York State’s Veterans Treatment Courts, April 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- Spike in Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides Blamed on Isolation, K-2 and Spotty Mental Healthcare, May 1, 2026. DOJ CRIPA Actions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- $9.8 Million in Settlements Reached with South Carolina County and Wellpath in Gruesome Jail Death, May 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- $2.135 Million Partial Settlement Reached in Schizophrenic Detainee’s Death from “Gross Medical Neglect” at South Carolina Jail, May 1, 2026. Prison Health Services, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Overcrowding, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Taser Use Doubled After Grand Jury Report on Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Death, May 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Stun Guns/Tasers, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Staff Training.
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026. Naphcare, Systemic Medical Neglect, Injunctions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, May 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Monitor Says Massachusetts Prisons Will Not Meet Settlement Deadline for Mental Health Reforms, May 1, 2026. Private Prisons, DOC/BOP misconduct, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Uncounted COVID Deaths Reveal a Troubling Truth About Official Death Records, May 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Medical Records, COVID-19, Statistics/Trends, Databases.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.

