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Prison overcrowding case draws settlement offer
By Andy Furillo - afurillo@sacbee.com
Last Updated 5:26 pm PDT Monday, May 19, 2008
Two court-appointed referees proposed a settlement today in the state prison inmate overcrowding lawsuit that would avoid the early release of inmates.
The proposal anticipates that the prison system will add enough new beds to lower the inmate overcrowding rate. The settlement also wants the state to put more offenders into alternative sanction programs rather than sending them back to prison by the tens of thousands on minor parole violations.
Neither the inmate rights attorneys who filed the motion for the prison population cap nor attorneys for the state have signed off on the settlement.
Plaintiffs lawyer Don Specter of the Prison Law Office in San Rafael said the proposal by the referees "established a framework" for settling the case.
He said there could be a settlement as early as May 30, although the details on an agreement still have to be reached.
"We still have some ways to go, but it's been very constructive so far and we hope we can continue," Specter said.
The settlement proposal follows months of talks between the referees and lawyers from both sides of the case, which is being overseen by a three-judge panel. The talks also included local law enforcement officials, Republican legislators and the state correctional officers union, all of whom were allowed to intervene in the matter.
The proposal also asks the state to increase "good time" credits for inmates who behave in prison and participate in rehabilitation programs.
Some terms of the settlement would require legislative approval, according to the two settlement referees, state appellate court Justice Peter Siggins and Los Angeles attorney Ellwood Lui.
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