By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO, Calif.- The warden at San Quentin State Prison was removed Thursday after the prison system’s inspector general found that she discouraged her medical staff from cooperating with attorneys in an inmate health care lawsuit.
Jill Brown has the right to continue working at the department as an associate warden, although it is not clear if she will, corrections spokesman Todd Slosek said.
“My observation is she inherited a big mess at San Quentin,” said Alison Hardy, a staff attorney for the nonprofit Prison Law Office, which represents inmates in the class-action lawsuit. “She wasn’t able to lead the prison out of a bad problem.”
U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson last week took control of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation health care system.
He acted after a team of medical experts reported that medical care at San Quentin were so bad that it was dangerous to house new and sick inmates there.
Brown’s demotion stems from a confrontation during a visit to the prison earlier this year by Hardy, said another Prison Law Office attorney, Keith Wattley.
San Quentin’s health care manager, Dr. Robert Chapnick, had asked to talk with Hardy privately. Brown responded by “sending a clear message ... that prison staff are not to cooperate with attorneys who are in the prison by court order,” Wattley said.
The Prison Law Office filed a complaint, which was investigated by the inspector general.
A prison spokeswoman said Brown would not be available for comment. She was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year. Jack Stokes, San Quentin’s acting chief deputy warden since April, was named acting warden in her place.
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Associated Press Writer Beth Fouhy contributed to this report from San Francisco.