INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ Indiana Department of Correction officials say they hope to move all of the prison system’s seriously mentally ill inmates to one central location designed for their care by January.
Department officials said at a court hearing Wednesday they intend to move seriously ill inmates to a new treatment center at a prison in Pendleton.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled Dec. 31 that by simply locking mentally ill prisoners up in their cells without adequate treatment, the department was violating the inmates’ constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana had complained that plans the agency had discussed previously were ambitious but vague.
The ACLU represented a state commission that advocates for the rights of the disabled.
previous post
next post