Death and Redemption in an American Prison
More than a quarter century after an inmate helped start a hospice program in one of the nation鈥檚 most notorious prisons, he is trying to spread the idea.
Prison Healthcare
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California Prison Drug Overdoses Surge Again After Early Treatment Success
Drug overdose deaths in California state prisons rebounded to near record levels last year, a big setback for corrections officials who thought they were on the right track with medication-assisted treatment efforts. Prison officials and attorneys representing prisoners blame fentanyl.
By Don Thompson -
Mental Health Courts Can Struggle to Fulfill Decades-Old Promise
Mental health courts have been touted as a means to help reduce the flow of people with mental illness into jails and prisons. But the specialized diversion programs can struggle to live up to that promise, and some say they鈥檙e a bad investment.
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Most States Ban Shackling Pregnant Women in Custody, Yet Many Report Being Restrained
Advocates for pregnant people in police custody say repeated incidents show prohibitions on handcuffs and other restraints are little more than lip service.
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A New Covid Booster Is Here. Will Those at Greatest Risk Get It?
The CDC says everyone over 6 months old should get the new covid booster. But the emergency response mechanisms that supported earlier vaccine campaigns are gone. As one expert wonders: How to get boosters to people beyond Democrats, college graduates, and those with high incomes?
By Amy Maxmen -
Montana State Officials Seek More Control Over Judicial Involuntary Commitments
Health department officials are asking legislators to change criminal commitment laws amid a bottleneck at the Montana State Hospital.
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The Painful Legacy of 鈥楲aw and Order鈥 Treatment of Addiction in Jail
Efforts to improve addiction care in jails and prisons are underway across the country. But a rural Alabama county with one of the nation鈥檚 highest overdose rates shows how change is slow, while law enforcement officials continue to treat addiction as a crime rather than a medical condition.
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California Promises Better Care for Thousands of Inmates as They Leave Prison
California officials recently agreed to give new parolees a 60-day supply of their prescriptions and promised to replace lost medical equipment in the month after they鈥檙e released from prison. The state also agreed to submit Medi-Cal applications on their behalf at least 90 days before they are released.
By Don Thompson -
California Confronts Overdose Epidemic Among Former Prison Inmates
Individuals newly released from prison are 40 times as likely to die of opioid overdoses than members of the general population, researchers say. In response, California corrections officials aim to arm departing inmates with an antidote that can be used to reverse the effects of opioid poisoning.
By Don Thompson -
As US Life Expectancy Falls, Experts Cite the Health Impacts of Incarceration
In a nation with one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, imprisonment speeds the aging process, research shows. Some experts complain the federal government isn鈥檛 collecting or releasing data that could identify disease patterns and prevent deaths.
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Journalists Track Opioid Settlement Cash and Fees for Telehealth Visits
51视频 Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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States Try to Obscure Execution Details as Drugmakers Hinder Lethal Injection
Pharmaceutical companies have put the brakes on many states鈥 ability to execute prisoners using lethal injections. Lacking alternatives, states are trying to keep the public from learning details about how they carry out executions.
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Reentry Programs to Help Former Prisoners Obtain Health Care Are Often Underused
More than 600,000 people are released from prisons every year, many with costly health conditions but no medications, medical records, a health care provider, or insurance.
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Judge to Fine California Each Day It Fails to Complete Prisoner Suicide Prevention Measures
More than 200 inmates killed themselves during eight years in which state prison officials failed to complete court-ordered suicide prevention safeguards. Inmates, the judge writes, have 鈥渨aited far too long鈥 for adequate mental health care.
By Don Thompson -
A Law Was Meant to Free Sick or Aging Inmates. Instead, Some Are Left to Die in Prison.
The First Step Act was supposed to help free terminally ill and aging federal inmates who pose little or no threat to public safety. But while petitions for compassionate release skyrocketed during the pandemic, judges denied most requests.
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In PA County Jails, Guards Use Pepper Spray and Stun Guns to Subdue People in Mental Crisis
An investigation of records from 25 county jails across Pennsylvania showed that nearly 1 in 3 "use of force" incidents by guards involved a confined person who was having a psychiatric crisis or who had a known mental illness.
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鈥楥aged 鈥 For No Fault of Your Own鈥: Detainees Dread Covid While Awaiting Immigration Hearings
Covid remains a threat for the roughly 30,000 people in the country鈥檚 network of immigration facilities. But ICE continues to flout its own pandemic protocols, an extension of the facilities鈥 poor history of medical care.
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Policies to Roll Back Abortion Rights Will Hit Incarcerated People Particularly Hard
People in jails and prisons are particularly vulnerable to the fallout from the Supreme Court鈥檚 reversal of Roe v. Wade.
By Carly Graf -
Overdose Deaths Behind Bars Rise as Drug Crisis Swells
Drug-related mortality rates have increased in prisons and jails even as the number of people incarcerated for drug offenses has dropped. The pandemic lockdowns on visitors didn't eliminate the problem, showcasing that guards have been a source of the contraband.
By LJ Dawson -
Long Waits for Montana State Hospital Leave Psychiatric Patients in Jail
A backlog at Montana鈥檚 psychiatric hospital for those facing criminal charges has left people with serious mental illness behind bars for months without adequate treatment. In some cases, judges have freed defendants over due-process violations.