Editorial: Brown Should Comply With Inmate Release Order

A San Jose Mercury News editorial argues that Gov. Jerry Brown (D) should not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a recent order by federal judges to release nearly 10,000 state inmates as a way to improve prison health care services. The editorial asks, "Why delay the inevitable?" It concludes, "California needs to own up to its responsibility to end cruel and unusual punishment and focus instead on strategies to divert people from a life of crime to product lives."

• "Mercury News Editorial: California Must Comply With Court Order on Overcrowded Prisons" (San Jose Mercury News, 7/1).