US SC orders unprecedented release of 40,000 prisoners

The United States Supreme Court upheld on Monday an order that California fix longtime problems with inadequate medical and mental health care at its overcrowded prisons, which will force an unprecedented release of some 40,000 inmates.By a 5-4 vote, the justices rejected Californias appeal and upheld a federal lower-court order that required the largest US state prison system to sharply cut its inmate population in stages over two years.The court-mandated population limit is necessary to remedy the violation of prisoners constitutional rights and was authorized by a 1995 federal law.Californias 33 adult prisons were designed to hold about 80,000 inmates but currently have about 145,000 and the state was ordered to release some 40,000 to get down to what court officials feel will be a reasonable level. It was the largest prisoner release order ever from a federal court.