State Senator to Call for Hearing Following Report of Inmate Abuse

State Senator Loni Hancock of Oakland plans to call a hearing next year to consider reforms in the way inmates are treated in separate areas, or yards. A report from the state's inspector general for prisons found guards at the High Desert Prison in Susanville provoked violence between inmates, used excessive force, and covered up abuses. It found that sex offenders, former gang members and prisoners with disabilities housed in separate areas weren't safe.