Supreme Court orders California to free 40,000 prisoners

[Playinghardball]

Source: Raw Strory
By Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON — The US Supreme Court ordered California Monday to free thousands of prison inmates, saying chronic overcrowding violated inmates' rights -- but one judge warned the ruling was "outrageous."

In a narrow 5-4 majority ruling upholding a lower court decision, the top US court said the release is the only way to address the constitutional violation of cruel and unusual punishment.

"This case arises from serious constitutional violations in California's prison system. The violations have persisted for years. They remain uncorrected," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in a majority opinion.

Cash-strapped California has for some years had a problem with prison overcrowding: the western US state has some 148,000 inmates housed in 33 jails designed for some 80,000 people, according to its own figures.

More at: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/23/supreme-court-orders-california-to-free-40000-prisoners/

[Turbineguy]

1. Issa's company should do well

out of this.

[xchrom]

2. recommend

[DirkGently]

3. Watch out for a push to "solve" this with privatized prisons.

[Iggo]

4. Release all the non-violent drug offenders.

See? That wasn't hard at all.

Of course, I didn't run for office promising to be "tough on crime", so it's no skin off my nose.

[yodermon]

5. ^^ RELEASE ALL THE NON-VIOLENT DRUG OFFENDERS

needs to be shouted :)

[Froward69]

7. + 1000

Those non violent's locked up for Marijuana or prostitution would be the place to start. I would wager Just those alone would bring the prison population down to acceptable standards...


NO more Prison privatization either.

[ProSense]

6. CNN

High court orders drastic prison population reduction in California

<...>

Kennedy spent most his 52-page majority opinion affirming the right of federal courts to step into the situation.

"This extensive and ongoing constitutional violation requires a remedy, and a remedy will not be achieved without a reduction in overcrowding," he wrote. "The relief ordered by the three-judge court is required by the Constitution and was authorized by Congress in (federal law). The state shall implement the order without further delay."

The state has already begun to comply; about 9,000 inmates have been released since the 2009 trial stemming from the lawsuits.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan supported Kennedy's conclusions.

Two tough dissents followed the majority's ruling. Reading from the bench, Justice Antonin Scalia said the ruling represents "the most radical injunction issued by a court in our nation's history." He said it "takes federal courts wildly beyond their institutional capacity." Justice Clarence Thomas backed him.

In a separate dissent, Alito spoke of the potential impact of the decision.

<...>