The US Supreme Court issued a decision this morning holding that the State of California is violating the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution with it's overcrowded prison facilities.
The 5 to 4 justice majority said that overcrowded conditions, insufficient medical treatment, and the presence of inmates with severe and untreated mental illness in the general prison population violates the constitutional prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court gave the state of California a two-week deadline to formulate a plan to address the overcrowding problem, and a two-year deadline to produce results. State officials will now examine proposals to reduce the inmate population through the implementation of any of several strategies that may include earlier parole for minor offenders, fewer sentences to prison for non-violent crimes, or redirection of some inmate populations to regional county jails. Officials say that violent offenders will not be eligible for early release or redirection as a consequence of the US Supreme Court decision.
