A Life Sentence of Expense

They bathe him, turn his body every two hours and spoon-feed him three meals a day. When he wants to make a phone call, a staff member dials the number and holds the receiver to his ear.

His care comes courtesy of the California penal system. Convicted of rape and assault in 1998, Martinez was sent to prison for the rest of his life. Two years ago, fellow inmates stabbed him in the neck, leaving him a quadriplegic.

Corrections officials say Martinez, 34, may be California's most expensive inmate. His hospital cell in the high-security prison here costs $730 a day -- not counting medical procedures, drugs and the salaries paid to his guards. Last year, a bedsore carved a crater in his back, requiring surgery and six months in a private rehabilitation center. The bill: $620,139, nearly half of which was paid to two corrections officers who watched him around the clock.

If he lives another 30 years, just meeting his basic needs could cost California $8 million or more.

Martinez is one of about 120 state prisoners who need help with bathing, eating and other functions of daily life. Some are paralyzed or missing limbs; others suffer from brain injuries or Alzheimer's disease. Thousands more are old, feeble or gravely ill.

The state's budget crisis is prompting questions about whether the expense of incarcerating such inmates can be justified when legislators are contemplating cuts to child care centers, aid for the blind, community colleges and other programs.

The leader of the state Senate, Democrat John Burton of San Francisco, thinks not.

In his view, convicts hobbled by disease or disability belong in lower-cost settings, perhaps nursing centers with minimal security. Some could be released outright, the senator said, or monitored in their homes by using electronic bracelets.

"What are these guys going to do? Run you over with their wheelchairs?" Burton asked. "There has to be a better way to deal with them, a way that saves money without threatening public safety."

Martinez's parents make much the same argument. They are pushing to have him moved to a private medical facility or released to their home in San Diego. They have sued the Department of Corrections, accusing it of medical malpractice and arguing that their son cannot get adequate care behind bars.