A special US District Court panel of three judges on Saturday denied California inmates’ request that a certain category of inmates be released in order to allow the physical distancing necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The request, which was filed on March 25, invoked an order entered by the special panel in 2009 in favor of the very same inmates who filed the present request.
The 2009 order required California state prisons to reduce and maintain its inmate population to 137.5 percent design capacity in order to comply with its obligation to provide constitutionally adequate medical and mental healthcare services for inmates.
