California Must Release Prisoners

Federal Judges have ordered that 40,000 California inmates be released in the next two years. The prison is supposed to hold 80,000 people and it is now holding 148,000 inmates. California says it could pose a risk to public safety by letting them out before their sentences are up, but courts say its necessary to protect the prisoners constitutional rights. The court rules that the method of reducing the overcrowded prisons is at the discretion of the state officials.