California Prisons Officially Declared State of Emergency
On Wednesday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in California's drastically overcrowded prisons---a move that aides say will allow for inmates to be transferred to other states without their consent. Such transfers are ordinarily against state law, which requires an inmate's permission since, in many cases, an out-of-state location makes it difficult or impossible for families to visit.
Lawyers for inmates said they would challenge any involuntary moves.At the Prison Law Office, a nonprofit firm that has successfully sued the state on inmate health care and similar issues, director Donald Specter called the emergency declaration ''political theater" by a governor running for reelection, writes JENIFER WARREN for the Los Angeles Times.