A stabbing attack last week on four guards at one overcrowded state prison and a racially sparked brawl at another mark the type of violence that guards, inmates' attorneys and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have been worried about for years.
The violence comes at a critical juncture for the nation's largest state-prison system.
Later this year, a panel of federal judges will consider whether the crowding has become so severe that the state must cap the inmate population or release some prisoners early.
Lawmakers are considering a Schwarzenegger proposal to save money for the deficit-ridden state by releasing more than 20,000 inmates."For the last two years, we've said something worse than this was inevitable," said Chuck Alexander, executive vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, referring to last week's prison unrest. "It's just a matter of where and when it's going to hit. In our view, it's a precursor of what's to come."On Thursday, two inmates armed with homemade knives attacked guards at the California Correctional Institution about 40 miles southeast of Bakersfield. One of the guards was hospitalized with a skull fracture and stab wounds.A second attack erupted Friday. A dozen inmates were injured during a brawl in a crowded dormitory at the California Institution for Men in Chino, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. A statewide lockdown was lifted Friday afternoon.
Schwarzenegger opposes a federally mandated population cap. But the Republican governor is proposing to release of some 22,000 inmates and eliminate about 4,500 prison-guard positions to help save $400 million from the budget of the state corrections department.California's 33 prisons have a capacity of roughly 100,000 inmates but hold about 170,000.
sourcy
The violence comes at a critical juncture for the nation's largest state-prison system.
Later this year, a panel of federal judges will consider whether the crowding has become so severe that the state must cap the inmate population or release some prisoners early.
Lawmakers are considering a Schwarzenegger proposal to save money for the deficit-ridden state by releasing more than 20,000 inmates."For the last two years, we've said something worse than this was inevitable," said Chuck Alexander, executive vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, referring to last week's prison unrest. "It's just a matter of where and when it's going to hit. In our view, it's a precursor of what's to come."On Thursday, two inmates armed with homemade knives attacked guards at the California Correctional Institution about 40 miles southeast of Bakersfield. One of the guards was hospitalized with a skull fracture and stab wounds.A second attack erupted Friday. A dozen inmates were injured during a brawl in a crowded dormitory at the California Institution for Men in Chino, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. A statewide lockdown was lifted Friday afternoon.
Schwarzenegger opposes a federally mandated population cap. But the Republican governor is proposing to release of some 22,000 inmates and eliminate about 4,500 prison-guard positions to help save $400 million from the budget of the state corrections department.California's 33 prisons have a capacity of roughly 100,000 inmates but hold about 170,000.
sourcy
