|
|
| Inmates' lawyers for Schwarzenegger to be held in contempt for prison plan |
| By mercurynews.com |
| Published: 10/09/2009 |
|
Lawyers for California's prison inmates on Thursday demanded Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger be held in contempt by a federal court for his "bald defiance" of an August order to slash more than 40,000 inmates from the state's clogged prison system. In court papers, prisoner rights groups argued that the plan released by the governor last month to relieve prison overcrowding fell so far short he should be held in both civil and criminal contempt "for his apparent defiance" of the judges' orders. Among other things, they asked a three-judge panel to appoint a special prosecutor to initiate contempt proceedings against the governor. "Defendant Schwarzenegger, as the person who sets state prison policy and determines how defendants will respond to this court's orders, bears ultimate responsibility for defendants' contemptuous conduct," the inmates' lawyers wrote. The latest legal salvo in the decades-long legal battle over state prison conditions ups the stakes for Schwarzenegger and his top prison brass, who've been struggling for months to figure a way to comply with the court order while at the same time dealing with a decimated budget and recalcitrant Legislature. Schwarzenegger, through a spokesman, said his plan will comply with the court's orders in five years without creating "undue risk to public safety." Read More. |
Comments:
Login to let us know what you think
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Education is far more important than "public safety." We must find a way to EDUCATE our young people in California, so that we don't find ourselves devastated with these terrible costs to keep our prisons running. There is terrible crowding and we all admit that. There is a huge weight on our medical staffs and they're struggling the best they can. There is terrible tension in dorms and cells. The CDCR stands for Corrections and Rehabilitation, but now the budget cut backs take away even the chances for thousands of inmates to gain any training to handle life out the outside. The rest of the world is looking at California like we're a "backwater"... a strange cesspool of barbarians taking advantage of the incarcerated.