SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The latest critical report on a remote Northern California prison says employees largely view inmates as "little more than wild animals" incapable of being rehabilitated.
California corrections officials sought the external review after the state inspector general reported last year that High Desert State Prison guards had created a "culture of racism" and engaged in alarming use of force against inmates.
The Association of State Correctional Administrators found little evidence of overt racism, but plenty of other problems at the maximum security prison near Susanville.
The report provided to The Associated Press says employees view themselves as united in a two-front battle against some of the state's toughest inmates on one side and a distant, disconnected state bureaucracy on the other.
It blames a lack of communication and leadership.
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