Staff writer for the Los Angeles Times
Staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, covering prisons and criminal justice issues from its Sacramento Bureau
PROFILE
Jenifer Warren
Guest
FROM Jenifer Warren
Which Way, L.A.?
More Prison Riots to Come? A thousand inmates at the Chino State Prison are still on lockdown three days after an eruption of bloody violence. The riot itself occurred just ten days after Governor Schwarzenegger unveiled his latest plans for prison reform . Federal courts have given the Governor until June to reform California's prison system. If he and the legislature fail, the result could be mandatory releases of inmates before their sentences have been served or a cap on the prison population. Currently, there are 174,000 prisoners in a system built for 100,000. This weekend's violent outbreak at Chino provided more evidence of just what that means. With federal courts threatening to let inmates out as soon as this June, we'll look at the options.
Which Way, L.A.?
Implementing Jessica's Law Just three weeks ago, 70% of California voters approved tough new restrictions on sex offenders. "Jessica's Law" requires paroled sex offenders to live more than 2000 yards from a school or a park and to wear satellite tracking devices for the rest of their lives. The Governor's High-Risk Sex Offender Task Force hasn't even made recommendations, but two federal judges have already suspended the residential requirements of Proposition 83 . State Attorney General Bill Lockyer has changed his mind about who it applies to and parole officials say it might cost more than its authors ever intended. We update the confusion and continuing controversy over a popular initiative.
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