Investigations to Target Juvenile Jail Conditions
The San Joaquin County courts will investigate conditions within California Youth Authority facilities after a pair of high-profile incidents involving Stockton wards, the presiding Juvenile Court judge said Monday.
The decision follows disclosure last week of a videotape showing two employees at Stockton’s N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility beating two young inmates even after they were subdued and prone on the floor following a fight allegedly sparked by one of the youths.
The video shows one of the employees striking a youth at least 15 times in the head during the Jan. 20 incident while the other employee jumps up and down on the back of the second youth. San Joaquin County prosecutors decided the video wasn’t enough to support a criminal conviction, a decision under review by Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
