Which Way, L.A.?
Prison Populations and Realignment
California has until Friday to produce a list of inmates who could be released before completing their sentences. What could it mean for prisons and alternative sentencing?
By Warren Olney • • 49m ListenCalifornia has failed to reduce the overcrowding of state prisons to the point where it's no longer so dangerous that it's unconstitutional. Three federal judges want a list of inmates who could be released before their sentences have been completed, and the state has until Friday to come up with it, though that's very unlikely. We hear what that could mean for prisons, county jails and prospect of designing more cost effective ways of punishing those convicted of crimes. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, the Arab Spring gets a new look in Egypt.
Banner image: California Department of Corrections
In this episode
2 storiesPrisons, Jails and Alternative Punishments
The US Supreme Court has ruled that California's overcrowded prisons constitute cruel and unusual punishment. To reduce the population, Governor Brown and the legislature enacted " realignment ," which provides that non-serious, non-violent, non-child abuse convicts be sentenced to county jails. That's where parole violators are going now, too.
Read the story27 minThe Arab Spring Gets a New Look in Egypt
After last year's revolution in Egypt, Generals from the ousted Mubarak regime disbanded the elected parliament and limited the powers of incoming President Mohammed Morsi.
Read the story23 min
