Federal judge strikes down California’s female-only early release program
Source: Sacramento Bee
A Sacramento federal judge ruled Wednesday that an early-release program for women prisoners in California is unconstitutional and must be expanded to include male prisoners.
"When the state draws a line between two classes of persons, and denies one of those classes a right as fundamental as physical freedom, that action survives equal protection review only if the state has a sufficient justification for the classification. Here, the state does not," U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. declared in a 35-page order.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation "shall immediately cease denying admission to the (Alternative Custody Program) on the basis that an applicant is male," the judge ordered. "Male prisoners shall be accepted into the ACP if they are otherwise eligible under (the state) Penal Code....and the implementing regulations."
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article34487229.html#storylink=cpy
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article34487229.html
