The federal judges who ordered California Gov. Jerry Brown to release 9,600 state inmates or find another cure to overcrowding refused Wednesday to delay their edict while the governor appeals their cap on the prison population to the U.S. Supreme Court. The judges are requiring Brown to begin preparations for freeing inmates immediately.
The state would begin complying with the existing order, but a state spokeswoman said, “We look forward to making our case to the Supreme Court justices that no further reduction in the prison population is needed.” The state said it is “assessing alternatives” to early releases for good behavior and had asked the court’s medical overseer for a list of “low-risk elderly” inmates who might be paroled early.