Feds to Seize California's Prison Health Care System to Stop Large Number of Prisoner Deaths from Maltreatment

Gee, where's The Arnold who was going to save Cally-for-knee-ah from 'dis stuff'?

A federal judge said Thursday that he would seize control of prison healthcare from the state and place it under a receiver, declaring that "extreme measures" were needed to fix a system that kills one inmate each week through medical incompetence or neglect.

U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson said that despite repeated warnings from his court and the "good intentions" of some state officials, the Department of Corrections continues to allow sick prisoners to die "for no acceptable reason." The judge said he would soon issue a written order outlining details of the receivership and begin discussing potential receivers with lawyers in the case.

Attorneys on both sides called the decision historic, saying they believed it marks the first time in the nation that a government operation the size of California's prison medical care system is to be placed under a federal receiver.