Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Report: prison system under 'tremendous stress' (Vermont)
Boston Globe story - "State actions and policies are partly to blame for the deaths of some of the seven people who have died in state custody in the past two years, an independent investigation has concluded. The report criticizes a ''culture within the department (of Corrections) that fails to embrace accountability. ... The report, released Tuesday, outlines problems in communication and supervision at individual prisons and in the system at large. Among them are easy access to illegal drugs, often smuggled in during visits from friends and relatives; a mixing of long-term and short-term detainees that leads to other problems in the prisons; and a failure to review the quality of mental health care treatment as required."