State Prison Population Has Dropped by 8,000 Under Realignment Plan
The number of state prison inmates has fallen by more than 8,200 since California implemented a realignment plan in October, according to court papers filed by state officials, KPCC's "KPCC News" reports (Small, "KPCC News," KPCC, 12/16).
Background
Five years ago, a federal judge ruled that poor prison health care in California was leading to about 50 inmate deaths annually. A three-judge panel appointed a federal receiver to oversee health care and ordered the state to reduce its prison population.
State officials appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the high court ruled in May that California must reduce its inmate population by about 34,000 within two years (California Healthline, 8/17).
Decline in Inmate Numbers
The state prison population has declined from a high of 173,000 in 2006 to 135,000 currently.
However, many state prisons still house more prisoners than they were designed to hold, according to "KPCC News" ("KPCC News," KPCC, 12/16).
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