In this Aug. 16, 2016, file photo, general population inmates walk in a line at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin. A Northern California judge tentatively ruled Friday, Oct. 15, that state prison officials acted with deliberate indifference when they caused a deadly coronavirus outbreak at the prison last year but said vaccines have since so changed the landscape that officials are no longer violating inmates' constitutional rights. The lawsuit stemmed from the botched transfer of infected inmates in May 2020 from a Southern California prison to San Quentin. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
Don ThompsonThe Associated PressSACRAMENTO (AP) – A Northern California judge tentatively ruled Friday, Oct. 15, that state prison officials acted with deliberate indifference when they caused a deadly coronavirus outbreak at one of the world’s most famous prisons last year. But he said vaccines have since so changed the landscape that officials are no longer violating inmates’ constitutional rights.The lawsuit stemmed from the botched transfer of infected inmates in May 2020 from a Southern California prison to San Quentin, which at the time had no infections. The coronavirus then quickly sickened 75% of inmates at the prison north of San Francisco, leading to the deaths of 28 inmates and a correctional officer.Prison officials “ignored virtually every safety mea
