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]
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