Politics & Government
Should CA Prisoners Be Released?
A panel of three judges has ordered the state to combat prison overcrowding with new high standards.
—Written by Katherine Hafner
A panel of three federal judges fed up with California’s longstanding problem of overcrowding in prisons has ordered the state to release thousands of inmates by the end of this year.
A panel of three federal judges fed up with California’s longstanding problem of overcrowding in prisons has ordered the state to release thousands of inmates by the end of this year.
On Thursday, the judges issued an order mandating the state take immediate steps to comply with a previous order in 2009, which stipulates the state prison population be reduced to 137.5 percent of design capacity. It is currently at almost 150 percent of capacity, according to the Sacramento Bee.
“We are compelled to enforce the Federal Constitution and to enforce the constitutional rights of all persons, including prisoners," the panel wrote in a 51-page order.
The order appeared to directly call out Gov. Jerry Brown for failure to comply with standards set forth in previous orders.
“The history of this litigation is of defendants' repeated failure to take the necessary steps to remedy the constitutional violations in its prison system,” it reads.By the end of the year, the order states, California must release about 10,000 inmates.
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Brown released a statement on Thursday, in response to the panel.
“The state will seek an immediate stay of this unprecedented order to release almost 10,000 inmates by the end of this year,” Brown said in the statement.
Brown has appealed previous orders, such as one earlier in the year, saying that California has done enough to battle the prison. But the U.S. Supreme Court has sided with the three-judge panel thus far.Tell us in the comments section below:
Find out what's happening in San Mateowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
- Has California “done enough” to battle prison overcrowding?
- What should Gov. Brown do to combat the problem?
- Do you think the state will be able to release 10,000 inmates by the end of the year?
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