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represe-nted a violation of the constitutional rights of prisoners.
“The court-mandated population limit is necessary to remedy the violation of prisoners’ constitutional rights,” the top US court said in a 5-4 ruling, upholding a lower court decision.

“This case arises from serious constitutional violations in California’s prison system. The violations have persisted for years. They remain uncorrected,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in a majority opinion.
Cash-strapped California has for some years had a problem with prison over-crowding: the western US state has some 148 000 inmates housed in 33 jails designed for some 80 000 people, according to its own figures.

Kennedy said that although the state has reduced the population by at least 9 000 during the appeal process, the decision “means a further reduction of 37 000 persons could be required.”
“The state may employ measures, including good-time credits and diversion of low-risk offenders and technical parole violators to community-based programs, that will mitigate the order’s impact.

“The population reduction potentially required is nevertheless of unprecedented sweep and extent.”
The order “leaves the choice of means to reduce overcrowding to the discretion of state officials,” the ruling read.

“”But absent compliance through new construction, out-of-state transfers, or other means . . . the state will be required to release some number of prisoners before their full sentences have been served.”
In a dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia said the ruling could mean the release of 46 000 criminals.

“One would think that, before allowing the decree of a federal district court to release 46 000 convicted felons, this court would bend every effort to read the law in such a way as to avoid that outrageous result,” he added.

In August 2009, three federal judges ordered 40 000 prisoners released within two years. Late last year, California appealed to the US Supreme Court to annul the ruling, warning that the freed prisoners could pose a risk to public safety.

The ruling comes after at least two inmates were stabbed on Friday when some 150 prisoners rioted at a maximum security prison in the state capital Sacramento.
Guards used pepper spray and fired a live round to regain control, prison officials said. – AFP.