California’s Crowded Prisons Fall Short In Mental Health Care Says Federal Judge

Circle Connections: Policy & Regulatory Updates Judge Lawrence Karlton of Federal District Court in Sacramento ruled against California Governor Jerry Brown's effort to ease U.S. oversight of mental health services in the state's overcrowded prisons, saying he did not trust officials to improve conditions for inmates. Brown, a Democrat, is under political pressure to scale back a program under which state prisoners are sent to local jurisdictions to ease crowding. That move has led to the early release of thousands of non-violent offenders from lower-level county jails as municipalities struggle to make room for them . . .