Dec 12, 2007 12:48 pm US/Pacific
Calif. To Review Release Dates Of 33,000 Inmates
SACRAMENTO (AP) ―
The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says it will recalculate the release dates for as many as 33,000 California prisoners who could be due for earlier release because of sweeping court decisions.
Corrections spokesman Seth Unger says the department plans to hire more staff to start reviewing the cases.
A union that represents records clerks claims that a worker shortage is stalling the state's recalculation, and plans to sue the department today. It says the delay could be costing the state millions of dollars as well as depriving convicts of their rights.
California's overcrowded prisons house around 172,000 inmates but were designed to hold fewer than 100,000.
A plan approved by the legislature and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger would add space for 53,000 more inmates.
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