Federal Court Orders California to Make Prison Changes

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered California to lower its prison inmate count
over the next two years by 27%. This specifically does not mean releasing inmates
into the community long before their sentences are served.

The article with details about the required changes can be read online.

California has a major budget shortfall and a prison system whose health care provisions
are totally inadequate and where prisoner's illnesses are not seen to in a timely manner
and where there have been reported deaths tied to the failure of the prison system itself.

Many years ago the federal courts oversaw the Texas prison system following a lawsuit by
a prisoner. The Texas prison system of today bears little resemblance, save for the
physical structures themselves, to the correctional system of the early 1970s.