State Admits Bias Against Disabled Inmates

The state admitted Tuesday that disabled prisoners had been victims of discrimination and agreed to develop a program to fix the problem.

The pledge stems from a class-action suit filed two years ago in federal court in San Francisco, accusing the Department of Corrections of failing to protect mentally retarded and developmentally disabled prisoners from harm by other inmates.

It comes less than two months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prisoners are protected under the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, which bars discrimination against certain groups.

Under the agreement filed in court documents Tuesday, the state admitted that the rights of developmentally disabled prisoners had been violated when they were, among other things, raped by another prisoner despite having warned guards; stabbed after informing on other prisoners, and given longer prison terms after not being assisted during hearings to establish their guilt or innocence.