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.