California prison case heads to Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments that could have a significant impact on California’s 165,000 inmates. Early last year, a panel of three federal judges ruled that California needs to reduce its inmate population by 25 percent, because of the state’s inadequate health care to its prisoners ? reports show that one inmate dies every eight days from inadequate medical care.

California officials disagreed with this decision. Franklin Zimring is the William G. Simon Professor of Law and Wolfen Distinguished Scholar at U.C. Berkeley, and the author of “Prison Population and Criminal Justice Policy in California.” He says that California wants to run their own system, and keep control over their own situation.

Michael Bien, is the managing partner for Rosen, Bien & Galvan, LLP, and the lead attorney in the case brought on behalf of prisoners deprived of mental healhcare in California. Bien believes California’s prison population needs to be reduced significantly for the mental and physical well-being of the inmates.