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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Supreme Court orders California to release inmates - latimes.com

California inmates: Supreme Court orders California to release inmates - latimes.com - David G. Savage, May 23, 2011:

"The Supreme Court ordered California on Monday to release tens of thousands of its prisoners to relieve overcrowding, saying that 'needless suffering and death' had resulted from putting too many inmates into facilities that cannot hold them in decent conditions.

"Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, speaking for the majority, said California's prisons had 'fallen short of minimum constitutional requirements' because of overcrowding. As many as 200 prisoners may live in gymnasium, he said, and as many as 54 prisoners share a single toilet.

"Kennedy insisted that the state had no choice but to release more prisoners. The justices, however, agreed that California officials should be given more time to make the needed reductions.

In dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia called the ruling 'staggering' and 'absurd.'"

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/sc-dc-0524-court-prisons-web-20110523,0,2337401.story

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