Under pressure from federal judges, California has approved plans to build 53,000 new prison and jail beds as part of a $7.3 billion construction effort. Critics say increasing capacity does not address the reasons why prisons are overcrowded.
"The proposal could mean a massive increase for the state's $10 billion prison system and would rival the decade-long prison building boom that began in the late 1980s."
"But the deal, endorsed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, did not include changes to the state's criminal sentencing structure or parole system, which many experts have cited as key causes of overcrowding in California prisons and the state's nation-high recidivism rate. About 70 percent of the state's convicts return to prison within three years on parole violations or new crimes."
"The plan calls for two phases of prison and jail construction, and additionally would allow the administration to ship 8,000 inmates involuntarily to out-of-state prison facilities."
FULL STORY: Deal reached for 53K more prison beds
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