Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
California prisons are violating the federal constitution by isolating people based on race after a riot, the Associated Press reports.
When a riot breaks out, officers often lock up entire races of people to prevent further violence.
But the Justice Department said in a recent court filing that the practice violates the 14th amendment, which guarantees equal protection, the AP wrote.
The policy “is not based on any individual analysis of prisoner behavior, but rather on generalized fears of racial violence. Indeed, the policy affects hundreds of prisoners throughout the (prison) system who the state acknowledges have absolutely no gang ties or history of violence,” according to the filing signed by the chiefs of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
