Schwarzenegger's prisons plan will fall short of judges' order

Sacramento Bee ^ | 9/18/9 | Kevin Yamamura and Denny Walsh

[SmithL]

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will file a court-mandated plan today to ease prison overcrowding that appears to defy demands by a panel of three federal judges, the latest salvo in a long-running feud between state and federal officials over California's corrections system.

The federal judges last month ordered the state to reduce its prison population by 40,000 inmates over the next two years in response to lawsuits alleging that overcrowding has led to unconstitutional and inadequate levels of medical and mental health care.

Schwarzenegger's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation intends to file an inmate reduction plan with the court today, but the state's proposal will be well shy of the judges' inmate target, according to a legislative memo.

The plan will incorporate the package approved last week by the Legislature to cut the population by 16,000 inmates, as well as proposals to send 2,500 inmates out of state and 1,000 inmates to private prisons. It also will propose constructing new buildings on existing prison sites to house an additional 7,600 inmates.

[screaminsunshine]

Escape Kalifornia while you can.

[American Constitutionalist]

I guess they got to make room for the real crooks, the politicians.

[UglyinLA]

Its sucks to live in California.

[Retired Greyhound]

Brilliant!

Put 40,000 criminals back on the streets in a state with records unemployment.

[EricT.]

Its sucks to live in California.

Yeah, it did.

[Retired Greyhound]

And record unemployment, too.

[EricT.]

They can start by cleaning out Death Row.

[eyeamok]

if only Governor Shriver would man up and tell these judges to Pound Sand, when they insist the State do as They Say, immediately seize their Assets under the Kelo decision to pay for It. Then watch them change their tune immediately. Actually I think the State should as a matter of Policy seize the Assets of Federal Employees in the State just to pay for the Unconstitutional Unfunded Mandates handed down by Fedzilla.