California's Prisons Face Allegations Of Race Discrimination: The overcrowding in California's state prison system constitutes cruel and unusual treatment, the Supreme Court ruled Monday in a case that focused on decades-long deficiencies in the mental and medical treatment available to inmates.
But the swollen, chaotic state of California's 33 prisons -- 18 of which operate at more than 180 percent capacity -- may lead to another unconstitutional policy: race-based lockdowns. The California system is currently under fire for managing violence among the massive numbers of inmates by confining whole races of individuals to their cells for 24 hours a day during lockdowns that can last for years.
