May 24, 2002 - Vol.33 No.21 - CorrectionSDigest

Sep 29, 2026

CorrectionSDigest issue dated May 24, 2002 (Vol.33, No.21) compiles state and court developments affecting corrections professionals. Coverage highlights a Florida proposal to require mandatory HIV testing and post-release education for offenders, alongside Oregon court-mandated reforms to improve mental health treatment for inmates. Additional sections report training initiatives for handling mentally ill offenders in California, and brief case updates under “IN THE COURTS” and “ACROSS THE STATES,” plus staffing and funding topics tied to crisis and at-risk youth.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

IN THE COURTS

Justices Will Allow Errors In Indictments

Supreme Court Expands Rights Of Indigents

Justices Agree To Review Sex Offender Registries

ACROSS THE STATES

California, Colorado

Massachusetts, Mississippi

Nevada, New Hampshire

New York, North Carolina

South Carolina

West Virginia

DEATH ROW

Texas

FUNDING

Crisis Situations

At-Risk Youth

OREGON MUST IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH CARE

CALIFORNIA PROVIDES MENTAL HEALTH COURSE

MINORITY LAWMAKERS SEEK MANDATORY HIV EDUCATION IN FLORIDA FACILITIES

May 24,2002 Vol.33,No.21 IN THIS ISSUE Oregon Gets Mandate ToImprove Mental Health Care...2California Provides CourseIn Mental Health Care.………2Virginia Greenhouse YieldsFoods For Geriatric Inmates.2Mississippi Could Gain WithRehabilitation Funding………3Nebraska Opens Death RowIn New Tecumseh Prison..3North Carolina Cuts Use OfYouth Detention By 62%..3West Virginia Selects SiteFor Regional Youth Unit……4 # IN THE COURTS Justices Will Allow ErrorsIn Indictments………………4Supreme Court ExpandsRights Of Indigents………4Justices Agree To ReviewSex Offender Registries .……5 ACROSS THE STATES California,Colorado……………5Massachusetts,Mississippi...5Nevada,New Hampshire……6New York,North Carolina..6South Carolina……………6West Virginia ……………7 DEATH ROW Texas…………………7 FUNDING Crisis Situations … ……7At-Risk Youth………………7 CorrectionSDIGEST The only independent news service for the corrections professional # Minority Lawmakers Seek MandatoryHIV Education In Florida Facilities Minority legislators in Florida eases account for about half of in- are getting behind an initiative thatwould require correctional facilitiesto test all offenders for HIV beforerelease and provide education forthose testing positive. Florida is second only to NewYork in the number of offendersthat test positive for AIDS. Currently,inmate testing is vol-untary. Driving the lawmakers is thedivergent HIV/AIDS rate amongblack and Hispanic inmates and anew federal study that found threeFlorida cities were among the topfour urban areas with the highest in-cidence of AIDS. The Centers for Disease Controland Prevention said Miami is No.1,Fort Lauderdale No.3 and WestPalm Beach No.4. CDC also said blacks and His-panics account for 62 percent of thetotal AIDS cases in Florida,whichranks third behind New York andCalifornia in the number of casessince record keeping began in 1981. The AIDS infection rate in stateprisons is 12 times higher than thatof the general population.Amongfemale prisoners,the rate is 60times that of women on the outside. Blacks and Hispanics also makeup the majority of Florida's prisonpopulation and AIDS-related dis- mate deaths each year. The legislative proposal re-quires testing of offenders 60 daysbefore their release. For those testing positive,au-thorities would provide 30 days'worth of medication and connectthem with healthcare and serviceproviders in the communities theyare returning to. The results of positive testswould be given only to the inmate,the Florida Department of Healthand the county health departmentwhere the offender will live.Testresults would also be included in theoffender's medical records. State Rep.Frederica Wilson ofMiami is the primary proponent ofthe testing bill that has capturedbroad support among black andHispanic legislators. The legislature has also ap-proved nearly $800,000 for medicalcosts for HIV/AIDS testing and re-lated care in correctional facilitiesin the next fiscal year. Gov.Jeb Bush has not taken aposition on the billbut did recom-mend legislators add an amendmentto limit the state's liability inadministering tests. If signed into law,the testingmeasure would go into effect inSeptember. Page 2 Florida expects to release 26,000 offenders over the next 12months. Department of Corrections offi-cials said that with improved drugtherapies,the number of inmatedeaths due to AIDS has fallen from149 in 1995 to 46 in 2000. Opposition to the legislation iscoming primarily from AIDS andprison advocates that object tomandatory testing. ## OREGON MUST IMPROVEMENTAL HEALTH CARE Oregon is under a federal courtorder to improve treatment of men-tally ill offenders. U.SDistrict Judge Owen Pan-ner ordered the Oregon State Hospi-tal to take every inmate withinseven days of being found mentallyunfit to stand trial.The hospitalbuilt with 400 beds is treating 417. Gov.John Kitzhaber will ap-peal,contending a wait for an openbed does not represent a constitu-tional violation.

FAQs

What HIV-related policy is Florida lawmakers seeking to adopt for correctional facilities?

Florida lawmakers are pursuing an initiative requiring correctional facilities to test all offenders for HIV before release and provide education for those who test positive.

What court order affects Oregon’s treatment of mentally ill offenders?

Oregon is under a federal court order requiring the state hospital to take every inmate within seven days of being found mentally unfit to stand trial.

What training is California providing for officers dealing with mentally ill offenders?

Ventura County officers are taking special courses to learn how to recognize symptoms of mental illness and defuse potentially violent situations involving offenders with mental disability.

Sep 29, 2026

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