May 30, 2008 7:26 pm US/Pacific
Courts: CA. Must Cut Prison Population By 40,000
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
A federal court referee is recommending that California's prison population be cut by nearly 40,000 inmates over the next four years.
There is little agreement over how to accomplish that, leading a special judicial panel on Friday to grant more time for settlement talks.
The three-judge panel says it will set a trial in November if the state, inmate advocacy groups, law enforcement organizations and others fail to agree on ways to solve prison crowding. They have 30 days to reach a settlement.
The federal courts could order an immediate release of inmates or cap the prison population, actions the Schwarzenegger administration and others want to avoid.
The court-appointed referee who is trying to negotiate a settlement says the state's 170,000 inmates should be reduced to about 132,000 by the end of 2011.
Referee Elwood Lui is proposing the population be trimmed by diverting parole violators and some convicts serving short sentences into community treatment or alternative-punishment programs.
Attorneys for the state, counties and local law enforcement say they are not yet ready to accept his proposed settlement. Republican lawmakers also have raised objections.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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