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Do prisoners get better health care than poor?

By Douglas A. Berman

The question in the title of this post is inspired by this notable op-ed piece from a local Oregon paper, which is headlined "State is wasting money on death-row health care."  Here are excerpts: On Sept. 18, 1995, Horacio Alberto Reyes-Camarena repeatedly stabbed two sisters, 18 and 30, whom he had met at a farm labor camp. The younger bled to death but the elder survived with 17 stab wounds to testify against him. In 1996, Reyes-Camarena was sentenced to Oregon's death row. He was placed under protection of the state. When it was discovered that his kidney was failing, the state covered the costs for his treatment, using $121,000 taxpayers' dollars per year to pay for dialysis.  On top of that, his prison doctor stated that he deserved a kidney transplant, a procedure that would cost the state an additional $100,000, so that he would be able to stay healthy until the date of his execution...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on June 14, 2009 (boomark / email).