Court affirms ruling on prison mental health

GRAND RAPIDS (AP) -- A federal appeals court won't upset a ruling that says Michigan has followed requirements for improving mental-health care in prisons. In 2009, a federal judge in Kalamazoo found no reason to order new remedies in a long-running legal case about prison conditions. An appeals court last week said it won't reverse the conclusions of Judge Robert Jonker. The death of a 21-year-old mentally ill inmate in Jackson in 2006 put a spotlight on psychiatric care. Jonker's predecessor on the case, Judge Richard Enslen, ordered an end to punitive restraints and told the Corrections Department to improve mental-health services, especially in segregation units. Published: Tue, Mar 29, 2011