Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Another Unnecessary Death At California's Coalinga State Hospital

Early Saturday morning, the 5th of March, 2011, Civil Detainee Victor Segovia died in California's Coalinga State Hospital. He had complained to medical staff of chest pains and difficulty breathing earlier in the evening but was left untreated and told to go to bed. Shortly before 4:00 a.m., he collapsed on the bathroom floor and, despite attempts by other Detainees to get him the timely medical attention he desperately needed, he did not receive it and died shortly thereafter.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is unconscionable. I know nothing of Mr Segovia or his history or his offense, but if the state of California feels justified in holding prisoners against their will, after they have served their sentences, for something they might do in the future, then the state of California is obligated to provide basic human care for those prisoners. This certainly includes medical attention in a situation where, in the outside world, a 911 call relating the symptoms Mr. Segovia reported would result in immediate ambulance response and a quick trip to the nearest hospital.

ACH said...

I have to wonder if this might be their way of trying to cut costs.