NCJ Number
143705
Date Published
1993
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Forty States, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, are under court order or consent decree to limit their prison populations and improve prison conditions in either the entire State system or its major facilities.
Abstract
Thirty-two jurisdictions are under court order for prison overcrowding or conditions in at least one of their major prison facilities. Eleven jurisdictions are under court order covering the entire prison system (Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Mississippi, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands). Litigation is pending in 12 jurisdictions (Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah). Only four States have never been involved in major litigation challenging overcrowding or conditions in their prisons (Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Vermont). A list devised by the National Prison Project gives the current status of each State and identifies States/jurisdictions where the American Civil Liberties Union has been involved in litigation.