TILTON CALLS FOR PRISON REFORM LANCASTER LOCKUP IS OVERCROWDED.Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Staff Writer LANCASTER -- Standing in an overcrowded o·ver·crowd v. o·ver·crowd·ed, o·ver·crowd·ing, o·ver·crowds v.tr. To cause to be excessively crowded: a system of consolidation that only overcrowded the classrooms. cell block next to makeshift double-bunked beds as the stench of body odor body odor A malodorous body scent. Cf Flatulance, Halitosis. wafted about Friday, California's head prison administrator said conditions at Lancaster's state prison were an embarrassment. "This is inappropriate," said James E. Tilton, secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation rehabilitation: see physical therapy. . "An inmate should have an opportunity to serve his time, have productive activities and try to improve his life." Inmates triple-bunked in a day room originally designed for recreation described their living conditions living conditions npl → condiciones fpl de vida living conditions npl → conditions fpl de vie living conditions living as deplorable de·plor·a·ble adj. 1. Worthy of severe condemnation or reproach: a deplorable act of violence. 2. . "It's scary and dangerous," said Jose Zavarra, a Salvadoran who said he was serving time on burglary charges. "There's diseases all over the place here." Tilton toured the facility to support Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's prison-reform package, which features a $10.9 billion expansion program that its backers say is needed to fix a beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. system. The plan would add 78,000 beds to a jail and prison system the governor's supporters say is desperately needed to keep potentially dangerous criminals behind bars. They cite statistics showing that 233,388 individuals avoided incarceration Confinement in a jail or prison; imprisonment. Police officers and other law enforcement officers are authorized by federal, state, and local lawmakers to arrest and confine persons suspected of crimes. The judicial system is authorized to confine persons convicted of crimes. or were released early in 2005 because there was no room to house them. Lancaster's 262-acre facility, designed to accommodate 2,300 inmates when it opened in 1993, currently houses 4,305, of which 450 live in emergency double- and triple-bunked beds in gyms, day rooms and in cellblocks amid conditions Tilton said were unsafe. California's prison system, designed for 100,000 inmates, currently has a population of 174,000, with 17,000 inmates housed in temporary facilities. "If you want to give me the inmates, give me the budget," Tilton said at a news conference after the tour. The plan includes an additional $41.1 million spending on anti-recidivism programs, including drug treatment, job training and housing assistance, and calls for $50 million to improve the adult probation program, focusing on 18- to 25-year-olds. The plan would also establish a commission to review sentencing guidelines. gideon.rubin@dailynews.com (661) 267-7802 |
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