USA - California. Three federal judges ordered the California prison system to reduce its inmate population

A panel of three federal judges ordered the California prison system to reduce its inmate population of 150,000 by 40,000 within two years to meet constitutional standards. The judges ordered the state to come up with a reduction plan by mid-September. The panel said that reducing prison crowding in California was the only way to change what they called an unconstitutional prison health care system that causes one unnecessary death a week. In an 184-page order, the judges said state officials had failed to comply with previous orders to fix the prison health care system and reduce crowding. The judges left it to state officials to come up with a specific plan within 45 days, saying there was “no need for the state to release presently incarcerated inmates indiscriminately in order to comply with our order.” They recommended remedies including imprisoning fewer nonviolent criminals and reducing the number of technical parole violators. The order is the largest state prison reduction ever imposed by a federal court over the objection of state officials, legal experts said. The governor planned to slash spending by reducing the prison population by 27,000 inmates, but law enforcement and victims’ rights groups stopped that.