California Settles Lawsuit on Juvenile Prisons

The problem-ridden youth correctional system in California will focus more on rehabilitation and less on punishment under a legal settlement announced here on Tuesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Speaking at a correctional center where guards were videotaped in January beating prisoners, Mr. Schwarzenegger said the state needed to admit its mistakes in running the California Youth Authority and begin correcting them. "California is wrong," Mr. Schwarzenegger said. "We make mistakes and therefore we should settle it." He said the settlement, which stemmed from a lawsuit filed two years ago by the mother of an inmate, was a "first step" in dealing with the system's chronic problems, which have included violence against wards, poorly trained employees and inadequate treatment programs. About 3,600 offenders between the ages of 11 and 25 are housed in the state's youth institutions and camps. [more]