California May Have to Reduce Prison Population

California Federal Judges have ordered California state prisons to reduce the number of inmates in the prison system because the overcrowding is leading to poor medical treatment in the facilities. This poor medical treatment is resulting in the death of about one inmate a year. This is a big deal. The awareness of the need for appropriate medical care in prisons is something people have been fighting for but the real big deal is the shift in thinking that incarcerated people deserve such care. This has historically been an issue. This "reform" however will not necessarily move towards an overhauling of the prison system as we know it since the language being used to talk about this issue is still in terms of "public safety" and reassuring people that the structure of the prison will not change. However, as the Nytimes notes, "Lawyers for the prisoners said that despite California’s exceptionally poor conditions, the ruling could have a national impact on prison reform if other inmate lawsuits seek population caps on other overcrowded facilities."

Read the full Nytimes article here. It's short.