February 9, 2009
Judges order state to free thousands of inmates
A federal court panel said today it intends to order the release of tens of thousands of California inmates over two to three years to relieve overcrowding that has ravaged prison medical and mental health care.
The three-judge panel said it was confident that the prison population could be reduced without endangering the public.
"The evidence is compelling that there is no relief other than a prisoner release order that will remedy the unconstitutional prison conditions," the panel said in what it labeled a tentative ruling after a trial in San Francisco last fall…
LINK - SFGate.com (San Francisco Gate)
