The San Francisco Chronicle published an article on July 4, 2018 on the end of “sensitive needs” housing in California state prisons, Dismantling California’s at-risk inmate housing brings issues.
The article notes that “Special California prisons intended to protect gang informants, disgraced cops and child molesters have become so violent, gang-riddled and crowded that officials are dismantling what’s become the United States’ largest protective custody program. The inmates are gradually being integrated into the general prison population, where some advocacy groups fear they will be even worse off.”
The article quotes RBGG’s Lisa Ells on the likelihood that the move will make a difference in the rehabilitation of prisoners: “Lisa Ells, a lawyer working on a major lawsuit seeking protections for mentally ill prisoners, said encouraging inmates to rehabilitate is laudable. ‘The question is, will it work, and more importantly, can they do it safely and will they do it the right way?’ Ells said. ‘And that’s a very open question.'”