NEW YORK, NY April 27, 2007 —A federal judge will rule today on a legal settlement that would change how New York houses mentally ill prisoners in the state’s correction facilities. WNYC’s Fred Mogul has more.

About 1 in 8 prisoners are considered mentally ill, and many spend weeks at a time in solitary confinement with only an hour a day outside what are called Special Housing Units, or SHU’s. Advocates sued the state 5 years ago, and the two sides have reached a settlement that goes before a federal judge today.

Under the proposed settlement, the state will still be able to keep mentally ill prisoners in the SHU, but will have to increase treatment, assessment and daily time outside of the SHU. The agreement would cover inmates in all state prisons and would be accompanied by millions of dollars to pay for more room and more staff members. For WNYC, I’m Fred Mogul.