Dear ustorm-ga
Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question.
?Congress defined the legal rights of disabled people by enacting §504
of the REHABILITATION ACT in 1973 and the AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES
ACT (ADA) in 1990. The Rehabilitation Act applies to federal executive
agencies, including the Bureau of Prisons, and to any program that
receives federal funding. In contrast, the ADA does not apply to
federal agencies. In most jurisdictions, the ADA goes beyond the
Rehabilitation Act to affect all state and local government programs,
even those that do not receive federal funding.?
Title II of the ADA says that ?No qualified individual with a
disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from
participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs,
or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by
any such entity.?
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
http://www.aclu.org/Prisons/Prisons.cfm?ID=14399&c=123
In addition there is the CIVIL RIGHTS OF INSTITUTIONALIZED PERSONS ACT
that allows the Attorney General to uncover and correct widespread
deficiencies that seriously jeopardize the health and safety of
residents of institutions.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
?Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons?
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/cripa.htm
Here you will find a number of summaries regarding various complaints
about institutions where disabled people are involved:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
?Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act Investigations?
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/findsettle.htm#CRIPAletters
Disabled prisoners then may rely on these ?Acts? to provide for their
special needs and protect their interests while incarcerated.
Many states have significant challenges accommodating the large
numbers of able-bodied prisoners so as one might imagine the issue of
disabled prisoners are equally challenging but not nearly the priority
it probably should be. The State of New York for example began
focusing on attending to the needs of developmentally disabled
prisoners some years ago as evidenced in this 1991 document:
INMATES WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES IN NYS CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
http://www.cqc.state.ny.us/publications/pubinmat.htm
THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT APPLIES TO LOCAL JAILS AND PRISONERS
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/cnsl/adajail.html
Similarly, following a groundbreaking lawsuit (Clark v. California) in
1998-1999, the State of California agreed to provide developmentally
disabled inmates with appropriate access to educational, vocational
and work programs, medical, dental and psychiatric care, religious
services, meals, recreation, substance abuse and anger management
programs, libraries, mail and other written documents, telephones,
emergency procedures, visiting, orientation, sick call, and exercise.
DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED INMATES TO RECEIVE SPECIAL CARE AND TREATMENT
http://www.psych-health.com/inmates.htm
CDC STARTS NEW PROGRAM TO IDENTIFY DD INMATES
http://www.psych-health.com/cdc4.htm
Where physical disabilities are concerned it appears that most states
are sorely lacking in their treatment of disabled inmates. In
California for example inmates have sued the states for a number of
reasons related to their lack of appropriate and effective healthcare.
This appears to be an ongoing issue that has yet to be resolved.
HEALTHCARE BEHIND BARS
?California prisoner well-being is a concern for many?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2002/03/11/healthwatch.DTL
Because of the increasing populations and lengthy and minimum
sentencing guidelines in recent decades a significant prison
population is now elderly and infirm. Almost all prisons have an
?infirmary?, ?hospital ward? or ?handicapped wing? that houses these
types of inmates outside the general inmate population and provides
for them in basically the same capacity as a government operated
Veteran?s Hospital. This will only become more significant in time as
the Census Bureau estimates that by the year 2030 one third of the
U.S. prison population will be more than fifty-five years old. Across
the country, the number of state and federal inmates 55 or older has
tripled since 1986, and now stands at more than 50,000. This figure
doesn't include elderly inmates scattered among the 700,000 prisoners
in local jails. Since this is a relatively new phenomenon correctional
systems are being forced to consider issues ? many for the first time
- relating to geriatric care: providing special diets, round-the-clock
nursing care, altering facilities, and restructuring institutional
activities.
THE QUALITY OF CARE OF ELDERLY INMATES IN PRISON
http://www.keln.org/bibs/maker2.htm
Recommended reading:
http://www.keln.org/bibs/maker2.htm#II
Here is an example of one of these segregated areas I mentioned
earlier for older and disabled prisoners (this one is from New York)
?The Graying Of America's Prisons: An Emerging Corrections Crisis?
http://www.angelfire.com/la/kaylee/prison.html
Green Haven Prison in central Dutchess County in upstate New York is
the only unit exclusively dedicated for the incarceration of disabled
and handicapped inmates in the New York correctional system. The unit
was originally established at Fishkill, medium-security facility, but
was relocated to the more secure Green Haven after inmate Robert
Garrow, who fooled the state into believing he was paralyzed, got up
from his wheelchair and escaped.
GREEN HAVEN
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/3548/facility/greenhaven.html
The California Department of Corrections? 3200 bed, three story,
multi-wing Medical Facility (CMF) at Vacaville is a similar
institution:
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
http://www.corr.ca.gov/InstitutionsDiv/INSTDIV/facilities/fac_prison_CMF.asp
DETENTION AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
http://www.astm.org/SNEWS/SEPTEMBER_2001/ruikar_sept01.html
I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
INFORMATION SOURCES
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SEARCH TERMS USED:
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Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
06 Oct 2004 07:24 PDT
Here are a few disabled notorious criminals that I managed to find for you:
-------------------
CLYDE BARROW (Of ?Bonnie & Clyde? fame) ? While serving time in a
Texas state penitentiary for robbery and escape Barrow had another
inmate chop off two of the toes on his right foot so he could get out
of a work detail. The injury left him with a slight limp for the rest
of his life.
CLYDE BARROW
http://www.rra.dst.tx.us/c_t/people/ccBARROW.cfm
-------------------
AL CAPONE ? Capone contracted syphilis long before he was sentenced to
11 years in prison in 1931. While at Alcatraz, he exhibited signs of
syphilitic dementia (symptoms of tertiary syphilis) that affected his
ability to think, communicate, and analyze. He spent the rest of his
prison sentence in the hospital and was essentially disabled until his
death in 1949.
AL CAPONE
http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/crime/mafia/al-capone/
HISTORY FILES ? AL CAPONE
http://www.chicagohs.org/history/capone/cpn4.html
-------------------
JOHN GOTTI ? Gotti, the last great leader of the Gambino crime family,
spent an astounding 10 years in 23 hour-a-day supermax solitary
confinement, suffering from throat cancer. Over the years Gotti?s
health fluctuated from remission to total disability, and he was
frequently treated for his cancer at the United States Medical Center
for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. Following a 1998
surgery and thirty-six radiation treatments, he was transferred back
to solitary lockup in Marion, Illinois but in 2002 while in
Springfield for another series of treatments he finally died of his
illness.
JOHN GOTTI
http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/crime/mafia/john-gotti/
JOHN JOSEPH GOTTI
http://www.geocities.com/carmine_scalia/
-------------------
SHEIKH OMAR ABDEL-RAHMAN ? The blind and diabetic Muslim cleric was
sentenced to life plus 65 years for seditious conspiracy that included
the 1993 World Trade Center attack and the foiled plot to bomb New
York City landmarks, including the United Nations and the Lincoln and
Holland tunnels. For a time, he was incarcerated at the Federal
Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota.
THE SMOKING GUN
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/lynnestewart1.html
-------------------
Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
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