The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a cap on California’s prison population that was imposed by a three-judge federal panel to reduce prison overcrowding. The 5-4 decision found that the cap was narrowly drawn and necessary to correct overcrowding that caused violations of inmates’ rights to medical and mental-health care, SCOTUSblog reports. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion.
At the time of the trial for alleged Eighth Amendment violations, California prisons housed nearly double the amount the structures were designed to hold. The prisons were ordered to reduce the prison population over the next two years to 137.5 percent of the design capacity, which at the time would have resulted in the release of 46,000 prisoners. Since then, 9,000 prisoners have been released, reducing the potential number of prisoners released under the order to 37,000.
May 23, 2011
