DOJ finds mental health care, overuse of isolation at Santa Rita Jail unconstitutional
By Lisa Fernandez
A special purpose cell at Santa Rita Jail. September 2019
DUBLIN, Calif. - The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division issued a damning report on Thursday saying that the mental health care system in Alameda County, and in particular, Santa Rita Jail, violate parts of the Constitution.
The report, which federal investigators began at the tail end of the Obama administration, also found that the overuse of housing incarcerated people in isolation, or what s called Administrative Segregation, is unconstitutional.
The Constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment and requires jails to provide incarcerated people with adequate mental health care. People s rights are denied when jail officials remain deliberately indifferent to their serious medical needs, the report authors found.