>> on america tonight, a prolonged death and new questions about lethal injections. >> you could hear a deep snoring, sucking air sound for more than an hour and a half. >> an arizona execution, the third to go wrong in six months. is it time to reconsider the method of deadly justice? also tonight, no safe place. gazan children and their mothers who thought they had u.n. protection find no safe haven from deadly

shells. what's been targeted and why it's so harm to stay out of harm's way. >> the nation's mental health system picked up. >> keeping them in jail for a year will cost $65,000. the most intensive treatment is going to cost $25,000. >> behind the walls of the l.a. county jail where even the prosecutor who put them there said the mentally ill just don't belong. >> good evening, thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. israel and palestinians in the gaza strip face more fear, sad and bloody clashes, the death

toll in gaza 800 with 5200 injured. the violence is spreading. a huge protest on the west bank, thousands of palestinian protesting. in gaza, a strike against a u.n. school, 15 palestinians died. the u.n. expressed outrage but the source of the she will remains in dispute. israel said it was a hamas rocket. >> they should have been safe. everyone here had left their homes to the supposed safety of a makeshift u.n. shelter. all our children are in the school and us, too, go and see, they she would us with rockets, there are chin's body parts, there is no safety, we have no security anywhere. the border close to israel is an area hit hard.

when we drove here, there was heavy shelling in the area. >> they told us we should evacuate the school, because israel will hit. it ok, we can leave, how? every family with eight, nine, 10 children, they say they will bring buses, we got our luggage and sat on the playground waiting, then the shells fell on us. >> these girls have just brought in to the hospital. there is a steady stream of people arriving here. the people here are asking why does israel target where they know there are civilians. people are extremely upset. they say israel knew this was a shelter for those who already had a flee the area because of israel's military campaign. >> israel says there main a rocket fired from one of the armed groups here that fell short, but no one believe that is here.

>> before the buses came, the israelis she israelis she willed the school. >> the u.n. had given the israeli army the exact location of the school, all of their schools and yet four have been hit in the last four days. >> most of the injuries are critical. they are being operated on. others we had to send to another hospital. this is a crime, what can we do? this is a crime against humanity. >> there is a desperate fear here. no one can make them feel safe anymore. >> the latest on the developments in gaza now, we are joined by correspondent stephanie decker. can you tell us what happened? >> we spoke to many families who came out of the school and the story they tell us is that they were told by the united nations and by the international committee for the red contract

that they need to leave that school because of heavy shelling around it. they were waiting for buses in the court yard and then is when they say they got shelled. we tried to head to that school after we heard the news. there was heavy shelling around the area we were driving. we got close to the school and we weren't able to get there. there were a lot of cars coming to tell us to move back. certainly a difficult situation. we did however manage to get to one of the hospitals where the injured victims were being taken. this will tell you quite how dramatic and petrified these people are. that really is the message from everyone, is that nowhere feels safe here, these u.n. schools are supposed to provide shelter and safety for the civilians who have already left areas under heavy shelling, and now people absolutely petrified. they say nowhere here is safe for them and they say it's a

psychological impact, people can't sleep because there is nowhere to go. >> there is some question still about where the shell came from, about who is responsible for firing it. >> that's correct. the israeli believe say they believe this was launched by one of the factions that fell short and hit the school. people here don't believe that. they say that this is the israeli army, she had been shelling this area extensively, it's one of the areas along the border with a military campaign on going there for a while. it is the fourth u.n. school shelled in the last four days. i spoke to the u.n. agency that deals with palestinian refugees. he said we have clearly given the coordinates, the g.p.s. coordinates of that school and all our other schools and yet again, there have been four attacks on four u.n. schools in

the last four days. they said they have lost staff. they are outraged and asking serious questions as to why these schools are being targeted. >> reporting to us from gaza city, thank you. >> these are difficult days for palestinians across the gaza strip in their desperate search for safe shelter. malaysia airline >> of the 1.5 million palestinians who live in gaza, 1.2 million are refugees, most from the war of 1948 which led to the creation of the state of israel. some, about half a million live in the eight refugee camps throughout gaza. some of the most densely inhabited places on the planet. the camps are administered by the united nations work relief for palestinian refugees. in gaza, health care during this

crisis is provided at 22 hospitals and 83 schools are now providing shelter to more than 140,000 gazes. there are no other places of safety and with the borders closed, no possible way to leave. u.n. premises are supposed to be respected by both sides but three schools were hit and u.n. employees, teachers were killed. the u.n. has also accused hamas of storing weapons in several schools left empty by fighting. it was at a school used as a shelter close to israel that oh sew many people were killed and hurt today. >> this is where it's get difficult to know what happened and who was responsible. it did try to organize and failed to get a pause to permit civilians to leave the school. israeli defense forces spokesman said there was a four hour pause. israeli forces acknowledge

hitting tares in that area but say hamas was firing rockets. both sides are pointing fingers. both sides knew civilians, including children were sheltering there. >> the israeli defense forces, say hamas uses facilities like this to hide rockets and to hide tunnels that they might be using to break into israel. is there truth to that, reason for them to be concerned about that? >> u.n. facilities under international law have sovereignty. they are not allowed to be used by either side and not allowed to be targeted by either side. hamas hiding missiles in school whichs said they have done is wrong. targeting buildings known to be sheltering civilians, u.n. buildings, is also wrong. the question here is who was responsible. the evidence on the ground is not conclusive, from what eyewitnesses describe, it looks

like it possibly was a series of tank shells, israel knew that there were civilians there. the question is if it was an israeli tank and that's a big if, did the tank commander also know. >> there is increasing pressure on israel about the strikes, excepting what happened at the school, looking back a day ago, the u.n. strikes chief was potion the possibility of israeli strikes amounting to human rights violations. >> there are occasions of hum rights violations on both sides. secretary of state john kerry and others say israel and its citizens have the right to live in peace and the right to defend themselves against rocket attacks. the same is true tort palestinian civilians, they have the right to live in peace and struggle now is to get to a ceasefire where there are conditions that both sides can accept. >> sheila, given the developments of the last day,

there's another story out of interest. we have been talking about the missile strikes close to the tel-aviv airport, also the shootdown of the malaysian fight over ukraine, the crash of the algerian passenger jet, raising more alarm. this aircraft was en route from the african nation to algiers when it crashed near the border with mali. this is the third large scale disaster in just over a week, very significant alarm especially for the french, who have ties to algeria. >> 51 citizens at least aboard the plane. the plane took off regular time, a route that it regularly flies, takes it over the saharan desert. the pilots requested a course change, because they said they were encountering bad weather. this is a mcdonald douglas 83, a very, very safe aircraft that was just recently inspected in france and found to be very air worthy.

there is no reports of any kind of may day, not clear yet that the wreckage has been found. until it has been found, we won't know for certain what brought that plane down. french officials are saying that well yes, there is a meteorological component to this perhaps, they are not ruling out anything, including terrorism in the form of a bomb onboard and perhaps another missile strike. >> is there clear and convincing evidence at this point quite early in the game about that. >> until there is evidence found, no. we simply don't know. the area where the plane went down is extremely remote, very difficult to get to, and so until this wreckage is found and until people are actually able to get to that wreckage and we assume the military is going to do that, we won't know very much at all about what happened to that plane. >> following up two very important developing stories, thanks. >> we return to the program,

another shocking scene, as a prisoner faces his death. >> to watch a man lay there for 1:40 gulping air, it's like this the if you throw a fish on the shore and it opens and closes its mouth. >> raising new questions about lethal injection and if there is a humane way to put a prisoner to death. >> also a follow up to a report about a treatment used to help women with common fibroids, which may spread cancer. there's more reason for concern. fibroids fibroid >> on al jazeera america presents >> we always have strikes... people should never be allowed... >> what started as a peaceful protest >> police seem to stick to the self-defense story >> became a horrific moment in

south african history >> i don't think any organization in this country would ever anticipate this type of violence >> what really happened that tragic day? >> it is the time to point finger at those whose fingers pulled the trigger >> al jazeera america presents miners shot down only on al jazeera america

>> israel's invasion of gaza continues tonight. >> we have been hearing a lot of tank shelling coming from where we are, here. >> every single one of these buildings shook violently. >> for continuing coverage of the israeli / palestinian conflict, stay with al jazeera america, your global news leader. >> war is a savage crime and

the a convicted murderer would expect a sentence. an execution which instead of taking minutes, lasted for hours, raising questions about the use of lethal injection. this botched execution raised the stakes in the debate. >> an execution in arizona took so long, nearly two hours, his lawyers filed and emergency appeal in vain to the u.s. supreme court. journalists who witnessed the execution said wood appeared to gasp for breath. >> it looked like that at the beginning for maybe the first seven minutes, he closed his eyes, went to sleep. then he started gasping for more than an hour and a half. when the doctor would check his consciousness, he would turn the mic on and he could here a deep snoring, sucking air sound.

>> it was very disturb to go watch. joe wood is dead, but it took him two hours to die and to watch a man lay there for an hour 40 minutes gulping air, if you catch a fish and throw it to shore, it was like the way it opens and closes its mouth. >> it took too long. >> the sister and the daughter of the victim said wood appeared to be snoring, not suffering. >> you don't know what excruciating is, seeing your dad lie in a pool of blood, seeing your sister in a pool of blood, that's excruciating, this man deserved it. >> wood's death is the latest in executions as state said try new deadly combinations because global pharmaceutical companies refuse to ship drugs.

the same two were used that were used during a botched execution in ohio, the first using that lethal combination. in january, dennis mcguire took 30 minutes to die as witnesses watched him struggle. columbus dispatch reporter had witnessed 18 previous executions. >> this one was different, because after three to four minutes, dennis mcguire began gas spinning for breath, his stomach and chest compressing deeply. he was making a snorting sound, almost a choking sound at times, and i didn't notice it at first, but his left hand which had been waving at his kids had clenched into a 50. >> he was sentenced to die after the rape and murder of a pregnant newly we had. his son, also a witness to the execution read from an affidavit about what you saw.

>> he then made a noise that sounded like he was fighting for air and grunting at the same time. it was extremely loud. >> now mcguire's family has filed a lawsuit to stop ohio from using the drug combination that killed him, arguing it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. >> when you strap somebody to a board, deprive them of oxygen for 25 minutes, as they slowly die in front of their family, it would take a good imagination to come up with a more brutal form of execution than that. >> two months later in oklahoma, convicted killer clayton locket died of an apparent heart affect 43 minutes after a new lethal combination injection failed to kill him. that helped convince previous advocates of capital punishment including governor mark white to ask for a moratorium.

>> some call it a botched execution, that was cruel and inhumane treatment. the spca does a better job than we're doing in oklahoma and other states. >> in putting animals to death. >> that's right. >> the governor ordered a formal review of last night's execution, but opponents of capital punishment say it is only the latest example of state said experimenting on condemned prisoners because they are having trouble getting lethal drugs for executions. aljazeera america. >> let's continue the discussion now and consider whether lethal injection is too cruel a form of punishment with that we're joint by arthur kaplan, head of the division. former texas governor saying the pound does a better job with stray animals than we do in administering lethal injection. what's happening here?

>> well, i think what we've seen is a systemic attempt to exercise conscience. you heard about that when people say pharmacists or doctors don't have to get involved with contraception or abortion, doctors are saying we're not getting involved with execution, companies saying we're not supplying the chemicals that you need to do lethal injections. that we're getting botched injections because the expertise isn't there. it is there at the pound, it isn't there right now at the prison. >> what do you mean by the less qualified are actually carrying out these executions? >> you've got no doctors, no nurses willing to participate in putting in the lines you need to make the execution happen, to make sure that the chemical mixture is going at the right rate, to make sure the lethal cocktail is what it's supposed to be. you're getting technicians, people who aren't fully trained

to do this, and so you have less than qualified people using novel, untested means and we're seeing the result execution after execution botched with people suffering. >> i mean, this is the third time in a matter of six months that we're talking about an execution gone really awry. did it surprise you in any way? >> sadly, it didn't, and it's because the states that are continuing to do executions and not been transparent about what they're doing, what batch of chemicals they're going to use, the fact that they're secretive doesn't let people critique them and so they get it wrong. i wasn't surprised to see another one and think there are going to be more to come. >> a lot of focus has been placed on the particular cocktails used and the differences being used by different states as they carry out executions. we hear about mercy killings, we hear about end of life issues,

where for example, a lot of morphine is used to help the person through the last period of their lives, could not some of these drugs be used to end lives in executions more in a humane way? >> lethal injection came in as an improvement over firing squad, hanging, electrocution. these were methods that often didn't work right, caused a lot of suffering, but now they're kind of on the books. you have to do it with lethal injection, swallowing overdoses of drugs that put them to sleep and basically cause them to die painlessly, except no one can figure out how to do it. we've gotten ourselves in a box by saying you've got to do italy lethal injection. state legislators have to change that if they want to continue. >> arthur kaplan, really appreciate your perspective joining us from n.y.u., thank you very much. >> my pleasure.

>> just a few weeks ago, we reported on the potential hidden dangers of a common surgery used in 50,000 hysterectomies a year and it may be spreading undetected cancer in women. now, new research suggests there's more cause for concern, a new study finds these undetected cancer tumors are far more common, make the hysterectomies more dangerous. there's more to it, a story first reported to us by america tonight's sarah hoye. >> it is the last police, a successful anesthesiologist and mother of six ever expected to be, in a hospital ward as a cancer patient, accompanied by her husband, a boston heart surgeon. they received the devastating news, amy had a rare and deadly form of cancer, stage four. >> it was a complete shock.

when they called me a week later and said are you home alone or is someone with you, i knew right away that that was not a good thing. it was not even on our radar screen. >> until walking in, you felt 100% confident? >> oh, i didn't have cancer walking in. how could it be possible? i'd been screened, i had tests, i had spoken to all of the right people. >> she did have cancer, an especially hard to defect aggressive form of cancer. it was discovered after she underwent a hysterectomy to remove benign fibroids or masses growing in her uterus. the couple has been waging war against the disease and against a routine gynecological procedure performed on women during hysterectomies they believe upstaged her cancer. >> when i found this was a routine standard of care, i knew

we were dealing with a public health hazard. >> what was scarred is what is known as a minimally in vicive hysterectomy, a device was used to minutes the fibroids into small pieces, removing them through small incisions. the procedure, she says, spread the hidden cancer cells. >> you can see tissue, chunks dripping down. it's not a refined procedure. >> amy says she was never infolder or consulted about the use of the procedure during her operation. had she known, she says, she wouldn't have allowed it. >> i did not know initially. that's not something they tell you when they say your surgery went well. they didn't say we shredded things up. i learned we had been morcelated, that it was 80% likely to come back because of the procedure.

if it comes back, i knew i had a life expectancy of two years. >> women's hospital declined our interview request, but confirmed that they have stopped using the procedure during a hysterectomy. many surgeons stand by the procedure. >> it cuts through the tissue as we are pulling the tissue out. >> the doctor is the director of gynecologic robot surgery, specializing in minimally invasive surgery, performing over 300 robotic procedures a year, she said it remains a valuable approach. >> we don't think it should be eliminated. it has a role in the appropriate patients. we don't think it's for everyone, but everyone has its benefits and we must weigh the risks and benefits of the procedure versus the benefits of open surgery. i believe that we cannot take the choice from women.

it should be up to the patient and the woman, it should be her right to choose whether she is going through minimally invasive surgery or open surgery. >> major gynecological associations haven't banned the procedure but are asking for more data. >> another note, since amy had her surgery, the f.d.a. put out an alert discouraging the use of the procedure for hysterectomies, that is bolstered by the study that puts the risk at one in 370. that's a risk which may increase calls for eliminating the use of the procedure. >> ahead here, a tough new line, iraq's growing divisions more visible as those call between power brokers struggle to find safety.

>> why the prosecutor and sheriff wants prisoners out of jail. >> i don't think it's a change of heart. i became a prosecutor 30 years ago because i wanted to do justice, and it seems to me it is the prosecutor who now should take the lead when we see an injustice. >> the prisoners who don't belong behind bars and why taxpayers are picking up the tab. >> on techknow... >> we're heading towards the glaciers >> a global warning >> is there an environmental urgency? >> that is closer than you think... >> even a modest rise, have dramatic impacts on humankind. >> how is it changing the way you live today? techknow... every saturday, go where science meets humanity... >> this is some of the best driving i've ever done... even though i can't see. >> techknow... >> we're here in the vortex...

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>> no noise, no clutter, just real reporting. the new al jazeera america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now >> now snapshot of stories making headlines. at the age of 27, veteran nfl receiver sidney write announces his retirement, citing a history of concussions. he missed more than two thirds of the 2011 season because of concussions, his announcement comes just before the start of this years training camp. >> a tornado at a camp ground near cape charles, virginia, three died, at least two dozen more were injured. the camp ground was evacuated. crews have begun to clear the debris. >> the european union considers broad and tougher sanctions targeting russian banks after the downing of malaysian flight 17 over ukraine. pro-russian separatists have

been accused of bearing responsibility. final decision on the sanctions could come next week. >> iraq's parliament elected a new president and the united states has thrown its support behind him. the united states has urged massoum to form a key cohesive government. the current prime minister al-malaki, a shia muslim received the most votes in the april election and pushing for a third term in office. many in iraq blame him for the current crisis. critics say he is leading iraq toward a civil war by alienating sunnis and kurds. >> ban ki-moon arrived in baghdad, saying he supports the new president.

>> i sincere hope that under the leadership of president massoum, iraq will make a great progress in the peace and stability and prosperity and harmony. >> creating stat in iraq will be difficult, even as the lawmakers gathered to elect a new president, government attacked a convoy carrying prisoners north of baghdad. more than 50 prisoners and eight guards were killed. there is no claim of responsibility. islamic state fighters still control parts of several provinces, including the largest, an bar and they still rule the cities of tikrit and mosul. >> fighters from the so-called islamic state are tightening their grip on mosul. they've begun a campaign of intimidation against anyone who does not believe their views. christians and minorities are persecuted, told to hand over

money and convert to islam or leave. the u.n. said the group is ordering young girls to be circumcised. they stopped us, took my i.d. and found i was a christian. >> his wife said all their gold is gone. >> i begged them that the money and gold i had was for my son's wedding. they told us to leave or they would take our car. >> since fighters from the islamic state controls mosul in june, anyone who opposes the group have been marked in read and con advertise indicated.

>> this is as close as we can get, 20 kilometers away, on thursday, the islamic state group gave christians three options, either convert to islam, pay tax or be killed. that ruling has terrified many. this church is now home for sends of families. the priest fierce for the worst. >> we have been targeted before, but never to this extent. this group is humiliating christians. >> some muslims in mosul and others under the control of the islamic state have become targets of discrimination. minorities are being killed, kidnapped or forced to leave. sunni's who oppose the group's extreme ideology of persecuted. the islamic state has issued a

stet of rulings imposing its strict teachings. many people are trying to cope and hiding their fears. others prefer such strict features over marginalizization or being ruled by the government. the country is on the verge of disintegration. it's not just christians living in fear of persecution. this is meant to be a place of worship and spiritualty but has turned into a sanctuary for families escaping mosul. when fighters from the islamic state who are in control arrived, they were not welcome. >> a shia group fled. >> they threatened us and asked us to leave.

we didn't sleep because of fear. we didn't have anywhere to go. >> it might be safe, but conditions are tough, scorching heat, lack of food and medicine. >> 120 families are living here, most came from mosul on the surrounding areas. when fighters from the islamic state overtook the city, they left all their properties and belongings behind because they were scared they woulding killed. he escaped with his family and sick boy. he says the government has failed them. >> the army fled. what can civilians do apart from escape for their lives. the government should act quickly and protect the people, but it didn't. >> iraq has multi-religions and sect that is coexisted for decades. since the occupation in 2003,

that was shattered. community leaders say seven leaders were killed and kidnapped since june. >> islamic state groups started to spread the sect tarian thoughts. they emptied mosul of its beautiful components and destroyed the history, shrines and treasures of the province. >> iraq is facing one of its toughest times and its people are suffering the most. aljazeera on the outskirts of mosul. >> i'm going nodes with paranoid schizophrenia and they can't help.

>> tens of thousands of mentally ill people are locked up in prisons and belonging psychiatric wards. a prosecutor is leading the charge to change that.

dwindling box bluster in hollywood. >> it is a startling figure, one study finds u.s. prisons are home to 10 times as many mentally ill people as state

psychiatric hospitals. as budget cuts were made, prisons have become the repositories for the mentally ill in america. we got an exclusive look at a facility that cares for more of our nation's mentally ill. >> it's shocking enough to witness firsthand a collection of men confined to the prison of their own minds, broken, vulnerable, and in unrelenting pain. >> i need help and they can't offer me help. >> more shocking, perhaps to know that the nation's largest caretaker of the mentally ill is right here. the twin towers correctional facility, los angeles county's jail. l.a. district attorney jacki lacy heads the office that helped put these inmates behind bars. today, she's working to stop

what she calls the jails unjust revolving door for the mentally ill. currently, as many as 75% of mentally ill inmates in l.a. return to jail compared to 60% who are not mentally ill. >> in the criminal justice system, it can seem like groundhog day. you can see people in for the same low level offenses, the same no one serious, nowhere violent offenses clearly due to them being mentally ill and in crisis on the streets and they are arrested, and brought in here because there is no other place to take them. >> you're a prosecutor. have you had a change of heart. >> i don't think it's a change of heart. i became a prosecutor 30 years ago because i wanted to do justice, and it seems to me it is the prosecutor who naturally must take the lead when we see an injustice. >> l.a. county has the largest jail system in the country with 19,000 inmates, more than 20%

have them are mentally ill, and more than 1,000 are behind bars for non-violent offenses, such as drugs, petty theft, indecent exposure. >> from her very first day on the job last year, assistant sheriff terry mcdonald felt there was something wrong with the process. >> i got here and began to tour the mental health units within the jail and realized this is not the right place for the right structural environment for the acuity of these mentally ill people. we have inmates in cells without treatment group space for them to come out and safely get treatment from the clinical personnel. >> in june, the justice department issued a scathing report to l.a. county, citing a dramatic increase in suicides. the report calls the treatment of mentally ill inmates unconstitutional, saying conditions are noise, unsanitary and crowded. the feds are seeking court oversight of the jail system.

>> i would say los angeles county jail is about the worst place to be, but any jail is a terrible place to be. >> peter is with the aclu of southern california, a vocal critic of how mentally ill inmates have been treated in l.a. county and throughout the state. >> it's a terrible thing for people with mental illness, the stresses from being in overcrowded punitive type situations where there is very poor mental health care. they have a hard time fitting in, figuring out how to play by the rules. you have this combination of physical and sexual abuse, poor health care, overcrowding, all these things are devastating for people with mental illness and many of them come out of jail far worse than they went in. >> there are serious issues that are identified and we need to work on. i don't necessarily agree with everything that they said, but globally, i'm not in disagreement, we need to improve mental health treatment in the jails.

>> the sheriff approached jacki lacy about the need to change l.a.'s jails. he now leads a county wide task force to not only improve the way the mentally ill of treated in jail, but divert those who committed minor crimes away from jail in the first place. >> here are some mentally ill that you are out murdering people or committing atrocious crimes, that's different. we've got to treat you in a locked facility such as a jail. what i'm saying is we're overusing that option for those who are lower level offenders. >> it starts here at the inmate reception center where the inmates are booked, screened and evaluated for their physical and mental health. 4,287 mentally ill inmates being detained in special housing here. it's a number that changes every day, but what remains consistent, the number continues to rise. the department of mental health

even projects up to 50% increase over the next five years. >> d.a. lacy, along with members of the l.a. sheriff's department took us on an exclusive tour have the jail's psychiatric ward where inmates arrive angry or confused. they are evaluated by psychiatrists in shackles here at pod 172 before assigned to permanent housing. >> we thought maybe this is a place people eat. when i found out that's where they have they are therapy sessions, there's something completely inhumane and unjustice about this. >> it doesn't take long before we run into an example of just how real the problem is. >> petty theft and they've still got me here. i've been in mental health for 10 years and they put me here. these officers don't know what they're doing, how to operate. i'm on 800 grams of seroquel,

i'm diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. >> he is speaking to what we are dealing with. >> he's telling the truth in the sense that -- in the sense that he is mentally ill, in for a petty theft. that's a perfect example. if he were not mentally ill, he would have been in court, pled guilty, all right be about his business. when you have someone mentally ill in our county, the only person you can call right now is the fire department or the police department, and they send someone out and if they in fact have committed a crime or broke a penal code violation, no matter how sick they are, this is the only option. >> there is some treatment here. these men are in group therapy for substance abuse. with so many inmates, guards are often de facto case workers.

here tight quarters create desperation. >> they are packed in here. >> they are packed in here. can you imagine trying to get well and rest in this environment? these bunk beds being brought in, the gentleman at the table is receiving therapy through his therapist, and the you know, there's no privacy, right? >> it's cruel and unusual. >> definitely. we can definitely do better. >> with the help of an outside contractor, the task force is modeling its diversion plan on successful programs in maim dade and shelby county, tennessee where the recidivism rate has been cut in half. the approach includes probation and the possibility of later dismissing all charges once mental health treatment is completed. it also involves greater community outreach to the mentally-to-prevent arrests. >> our task force will link people with services in the

community, so there will be a plan so they can continue to get mental health counseling and never get to the point where they have to be arrested again. >> to relieve crowding, l.a. county recently approved plans for a new $2 billion central jail, but lacy's task force is seek to go divert money from building jails to opening up more mental health beds. lacy says treatment in the community would save a lot of money. >> the way we're doing it now is the most expensive way you can possibly do it. you have to have more deputies, more security here, we can absolutely save taxpayer money. we can absolutely reduce recidivism by 20%. >> this month, the aclu published a study that came to the same conclusion. >> if you keep someone in jail with mental illness for a year, that's going to cost $65,000. the most intensive community treatment, permanent supportive housing with services right on

site is going to cost $20,000 to $25,000 a year. >> lacy is hearing urgency from various mental health and law enforcement agencies. >> we started with six people, three from the sheriffs department and three from the d.a.'s office. in a matter of months, we have grown to 100 partners who people calling and saying i want to be a part of this discussion, we really need help. >> it's not just law enforcement that has recognized the need for change. the l.a. county board of supervisors recently voted to allow families and police to commit a mentally ill person to involuntary treatment, keeping them out of jail. the board voted to expand existing outpatient treatment. >> there's a huge commitment in this county to do something different which excites me. i don't want to warehouse mentally ill people. i don't want to warehouse anyone. people matter.

>> there is an awakening in law enforcement and prosecutor's offices where we are taking a serious look, a much more intelligent look at the underlying causes of what leads people to be incarcerated. >> have we contributed to it? sure in one sense, but we are determined, i am determined that we are going to lead this cause. my dream is that we'll be able to close down some wings of the jail. >> a dream to free people who don't belong behind bars, even if she helped put them there. aljazeera, los angeles. >> in our final segment this hour, a thought about what might have been, once a gateway to opportunity, now the only arrives and departures, on the runway. >> a look ahead to america tonight this weekend, achieving the american dream isn't just a dream for certain americans. >> when they start out, they are

cute and cuddly. you want each and every one of them to kind of own the world, but you know sadly that is not going to happen. >> this week, a social experiment 20 years in the making with two kids from the inner city, one black, one white, both dreaming of a better life. america tonight with the stunning results of a study that raises the question when you come from the mean streets, is the american dream dead on arrival for some of them?

>> what i admire so much about al jazeera america is that it is solely committed to journalism. >> you're not just giving the headlines, you're also not getting fluff. >> the gap between the rich and the poor is growing faster in san francisco. >> you're going to get something you're not going to get anywhere else, and you're going to get these in depth stories about real people. >> as an unsecured creditor could receive just cents on the dollar. >> chronic homelessness has always been a challenge here in new orleans. >> we recently did a story about a mother who was worried about the air her children were breathing. >> this is not standard household dust. >> florida is an amazing place to work as a journalist. >> the rocky mountain west is really an extraordinary part of

this country. >> i worked in nashville for six years, i know the stories that are important to people there. overcrowding is such a big issue at this school. >> people in the outer islands of alaska picking up tsunami trash, really committed to what they are doing, and they have a lot more work to do. if you really want to tell peoples' stories, you've got to go talk to the people. >> real reporting. >> real news. >> this. >> this. >> this, is what we do. >> al jazeera america. >> finally this hour, a brief word about way out. that's at the heart of what hamas said it would atory agree to a ceasefire. we've talked about the border closures and fencing. the air space over the area, one

route, though has been all but forgotten, even though it comes from a recent moment in the bitter history of this border. this is all that remains of the gaza international airport. sheep graze on the runway. what was the v.i.p. lounge now a gaping open air patio, stones cover the tarmac, but they've been stolen, sold as construction scrap, along with anything else of value. the sad debris of what was to have become a shining symbol of palestinian sovereignty. >> the airport was our sovereignty, digit and freedom. everyone is affected by what happened there. >> the airport, one outcome of the oslo peace agreement, signed at the white house, it was supposed to usher in a new era. the funding came from international partners, the

european union, morocco, the japanese. it opened to great fanfare. president clinton arrived to a red carpet greeting. tens of millions invested, the runway cost $60 million. in what would be not only a symbolic route, but an opportunity for gazes to travel more freely and business travelers to move in and out of gaza more easily. the opportunities were short lived. israel shut down the airport at the start of the second in at a fad da. it destroyed its control to your and runways, fear that the airport was hiding smuggling tunnels. workers continued to show up, even though aircraft no longer did. little is made of the airport today, and

the opportunities lost in the midst of the latest clashes, just fragments left and the story almost forgotten. >> we'll continue to follow the story of the gaza, israel clashes here on aljazeera america. that's it for us here tonight. if you'd like to comment on stories you've seen tonight, log on to our website, aljazeera.com/americatonight. good night, we hope you join us again or america tonight. >> a shocking america tonight investigative report... >> you take someones hopes and dreams of childhood, and then out right steal their money >> wishing to start a family >> we lost over $20,000 trying to do surrogacy in mexico >> but left with broken hearts and empty pockets

>> how much money do you owe people >> around $350,000 >> praying on the vulnerable >> i have nothing to hide, if i was a scam artist, i would have cut and run from here >> surrogacy inc. an american tonight investigative report only on al jazeera america >> a deadly attack on a united nations school in gaza, as efforts to reach a ceasefire go nowhere. hello, i'm antonio mora. welcome to consider this. we'll have that story and much more, straight ahead. >> another together on a u.n. school. >> the residents were using the school as a shelter. >> there were significant casualties. >> palestinians are blaming israel, the israelis say it was a hamas rocket. >> today's attack underscores the imperative for the killing to stop now.