CHOWCHILLA, Calif. — Formerly Valley State Prison for Women, the new Valley State Prison recently completed its conversion from a women’s facility to a men’s prison in an effort to utilize facilities and relieve overcrowding in California state prisons.
PASADENA, Calif. — In 2011, California passed several bills that called for prison realignment in the state as a way to cut costs in the budget, as well as cut California’s prison population.
A federal court order was issued to California to reduce its prison population by June 2013. The order called to reduce overcrowding in California’s 33 prisons to no more than 137.7 percent of the design capacity by 2013, according to a report by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office.
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