NORTH KERN STATE PRISON, California. In August 55 inmates were injured and a dormitory burned down in a prison riot in Chino, one hour West of Los Angeles. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger blamed it on overcrowding. That same month, a federal judicial panel, describing conditions as "woefully and constitutionally inadequate," ordered the state of California to reduce its 170000 prison population, double its capacity by 40000 inmates. Now, the Golden State is facing a perfect storm of problems surrounding its system of incarceration, the largest in the nation: a federal lawsuit and a fiscal crisis crippling its economy. As the budget shrinks, prison spending continues to swell as inmate populations grow. Last year Californias overcrowded and underserved jails cost the state about billion, a price which it can no longer afford to pay.
Tags: prison, california, overcrowding, schwarzenegger, inmates, jail, North, Kern, budget, Chino
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