LOS ANGELES, March 14 (UPI) -- Los Angeles County faces tens of millions of dollars in damages for bedding thousands of prisoners on mattresses on concrete floors.
The practice violates the Constitution and is symptomatic of serious problems in the crowded, riot-torn jail system, a federal judge tentatively ruled Monday.
U.S. District Court Judge Dean D. Pregerson gave lawyers for the county, and Stephen Yagman -- representing the class of floor-sleeping inmates he estimated at up to 300,000 -- time to make additional arguments before a final ruling.
Roger Granbo, assistant county counsel, pointed out the case "is still pending."
Floor sleeping ended last September as additional facilities were opened to provide more bunks, in addition to early release of some inmates convicted of misdemeanors, said Marc Klugman, Chief of the Correctional Services Division.
He said "the system was hard hit" by a string of bad budget years.
An injunction against overcrowding in the jails, indicated by floor sleeping, has been in place for nearly three decades.
article found at: http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060314-110605-1488r
I don't know about you, but I think inmates should sleep on the floor. We are getting way to easy on these criminals. They get FREE room and board, three FREE meals a day, FREE medical treatment, and sometimes even FREE cable tv. I realize their freedoms are inhibited, but in all seriousness they get a better life than most homeless people. At least they get a mattress!
Do you feel forcing inmates to sleep on mattresses on the floor is unconstitutional??
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Actually I do. One of my best friends was an inmate for a while. Now I understand that he had to rigt to do what he did, but I still don't feel that he should have to sleep on a floor. Actually his problem was that he was hungry. But sometimes good things happen in jail. He is saved now. He has also started going to rehab and is trying to make him self better. I am a firm beliver in everyone needing a second chance. Yet even if they are aweful people, it is unconstitunial to make them sleep on the floor.
I do want to add however, I see your point. If it wasn't for him i would probably agree with you whole heartedly.
But they weren't forced to sleep directly on the floor. They were supplied mattresses, just no bed frame. I know many poor college students who sleep on a mattress on the floor with no problem.
Now, I'm not advocating a change in prisons to only allow mattresses with no frames, but I don't see a problem with resorting to this when jails are overcrowded.
Our constitution says that cruel and unusual punishment like this is illegal. You toss one chunk of the constitution away, and you toss the rest of them away.
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If a society is willing to give freedom for temporary security, they deserve neither.
So you agree that having a mattress on the floor without a frame is cruel and unusual punishment??
I disagree. That is neither cruel or unusual. They have a soft place to lay with a blanket and pillow. Most homeless shelters don't even have mattresses - they use cots. No one fights for them to get "real beds" because of the constitution and they haven't been convicted of a crime.
If you want to discuss cruel and unusual punishment -- the death penalty is far worse than not having a bed frame. How do you justify killing criminals and then turning around to fight for bed frames? It seems off balance.
I'm NOT justifying the death penalty - I think it's being carried out wrong in the first place, but that's for another time.
Yes, I think it is - do you realize that it's very easy for diseases to spread when you've got a matress on the floor? Why else do you think bedstands were made in the first place? Rats can easily infect people, as well as any number of various insects.
Not to mention the fact that it can't be healthy to be THAT close to a concrete floor. Sure, that's fine for a week or a month or two, but when you get to 8, 9+ months in prison - even years - then it becomes cruel and unusual.
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If a society is willing to give freedom for temporary security, they deserve neither.
Point taken. I am not sure how long the inmates were required to sleep on the floor or how many, if any, were infected because of it. I hadn't thought of it in terms of spreading disease.
I still don't feel that it should qualify as cruel and unusual but it definately puts them at a higher risk for infection. Over time, the medical bills could outweigh the original price for expanding prisons to allow the increased capicity of inmates.
So does anyone out there have a way to cut the prison population down and help alleviate the overcrowding?? I think if drugs were legalized (with certain regulations in place) we could help this growing problem. Thoughts?
Well if they had a matras i guess they would be ok. Yeah i know i spelled that wrong. Anyway just a matrass isn't cruel and unusal I don't think, as long as they were warm. I mean what is the big deal about having a bed frame anyway?
There have been many times in my life where I would have given almost anything to have a roof over my head. I would have personally cut off my right arm for a climate-controlled place with free food, medical care, and a mattress! I hate the fact that there's other people sleeping on the streets every night, yet we provide for those who have broken the law. I like the idea of giving violent offenders next to nothing, and establishing a hierarchy of goods. In order to get a mattress, you would have to earn points. Violent criminals would start out with little to no points, nonviolent offenders would have a few more. They could also exchange points for better food, outdoor walks, etc. and show them that hard work does pay off. I see nothing cruel about that.
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