California Penal Code § 147 PC makes it a crime for prison officers to act with willful inhumanity or oppression towards prisoners in their care. Officers found to have acted inhumanely or oppressively towards their prisoners face a $4,000 fine plus being terminated from their position.
The language of the statute reads as follows
147. Every officer who is guilty of willful inhumanity or oppression toward any prisoner under his care or in his custody, is punishable by fine not exceeding four thousand dollars ($4,000), and by removal from office.
(Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 1092, Sec. 240. Effective September 27, 1983. Operative January 1, 1984, by Sec. 427 of Ch. 1092.)
Legal Analysis
California Penal Code 147 PC serves as a check on prison guards, who understandably have trying jobs constantly corralling inmates who may be acting up or even displaying violence. However, under no circumstances can prison officers act with:
- willful inhumanity or
- oppression
towards any prisoners in their custody or care. In the event they do, they must be terminated from their position and pay a fine of $4,000.
Example: Max is a prison warden who is angry at an inmate, Mel, for failing to make his bed. To punish Mel, Max makes Mel go without any meals for three straight days. Here, Max would probably be found to be in violation of PC 147 for depriving an inmate of food for so long.
Note that prison guards terminated and fined for inhumanity towards prisoners may also face assault & battery charges if there was any physical abuse. Plus the prisoners may try to sue the detention center for mistreatment and bring a Section 1983 civil rights lawsuit against the officer.1
PC 147 requires that prison officers lose their jobs if they are willfully inhumane toward their inmates.
See our related article on Medical and Health Care Neglect of California Jail and Prison Inmates.
Legal References
- California Penal Code 147 PC – Inhumanity to prisoners. See also Griffin v. Municipal Court (Cal. 1977), 20 Cal. 3d 300.