Violence spikes at California jails after release of prison inmates

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered California to downsize its prisons because of overcrowding. Photo credit: Barbara Rosner/CC 2.0, via Pixabay

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered California to downsize its prisons because of overcrowding. State officials released some prisoners, but also redistributed inmates from state prisons to county jails. Violence spiked in some county jails as a result.