Calif. Officials Seek Extension to Reduce Prison Population

Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders announced Monday a deal to seek more time to cut California's prison population by expanding rehabilitation programs aimed at reducing the number of former inmates committing new crimes.

However, the state is prepared to spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year to house inmates in private prisons and other facilities if the request for an extension is rejected by a panel of three federal judges.

The judges, who have deemed California prisons unconstitutionally crowded, have given state officials until Dec. 31 to reduce the prison population by thousands.

#Prisons #California #Sentencing