Thread: Up to 25,000 California prisoners to be released: report

Up to 25,000 California prisoners to be released: report

Sep 12, 4:04 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – California lawmakers have approved a plan to reduce the state's prison population by up to 25,000 in two years, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

The plan, agreed on Friday after weeks of tense debate, is less ambitious than that envisioned by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But the Times, citing administration officials, said he still intends to sign the legislation.

California has one of the most overcrowded and underfunded prison systems in the country, prompting three federal judges in August to order it to develop a plan to free some 46,000 prisoners in the next two years.

Authorities have asked the US Supreme Court to block the order, arguing that freeing the detainees could endanger state residents.

The new package calls for less supervision of low-level offenders on parole in order to prevent them from being sent back to prison for violating the terms of their release, the newspaper said.

Some offenders would also be able to earn shorter terms by undergoing rehabilitation programs.

With a population of 170,000 inmates in 33 prisons, the California prison system has been the subject of repeated charges of overcrowding and medical mistreatment in a state where minor offenses are punished with long prison sentences.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090912/ts ... 0912200440

What will the 3 federal judges do when they find out that only 25,000 inmates will be released instead of the 44,000 they ordered released?