Calif. Must Plan to Release Up to 60,000 Inmates, Federal Panel Says
Although it’s not yet a final decision, a special panel of federal judges ruled today that California must begin planning to release tens of thousands of state prison inmates over the next several years.
“California’s 33 prisons hold about 160,000 inmates, nearly twice their designed capacity. The judges said they were prepared to impose a limit of between 120 and 145 percent of capacity, which would require 37,000 to 58,000 prisoners to be released,” the San Francisco Chronicle writes.
The judges say they are confident the prisoners can be released without endangering public safety, the newspaper notes.
There is no other solution, the San Francisco-based panel found, to the overcrowding that unconstitutionally causes “conditions so poor that inmates die regularly,” from suicides and lack of appropriate medical and mental health care, the Associated Press writes.
Related coverage:
Los Angeles Times (2007): “Judges to study cap on prisons”
ABAJournal.com (2008): “More States Weigh Early Prison Release Programs to Save Money”
