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July 11, 2013

California Seeks to Evade Overcrowding Order as Hunger Strike Continues 
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California has asked the Supreme Court to release it from an order to
reduce its prison population by about 10,000 prisoners this year. A
federal panel recently reaffirmed previous decisions ordering the
California prison system to reduce overcrowding due to inhumane
conditions. According to court documents, at least one California
prisoner "needlessly dies every six or seven days due to constitutional
deficiencies." California has had a prisoner suicide rate that at times
has been 80 percent higher than the national average. But in their
filing, California officials sought permission to ignore the
overcrowding order, citing what it said are improved conditions. The
request comes just as nearly 29,000 California prisoners have launched a
hunger strike against prison conditions and rules. The strike is now in
its third today and could become the state's largest ever.

 

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