SACRAMENTO -- Busloads of protesters fighting new prison construction mobbed the capital today while inside the Statehouse the simmering politics surrounding California's prison overcrowding crisis boiled into full view.
The protesters, gathering for Beyond Prisons Day, attacked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to build 78,000 prison and jail beds, saying $11 billion worth of bricks and mortar are no substitute for true reform.
Meanwhile, Democrats in the state Senate slapped a moratorium on bills that would lengthen criminal sentences and exacerbate overcrowding -- a maneuver that infuriated Republicans.
Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), chairwoman of the Senate Public Safety Committee, said she would hold until next year all bills that would intensify crowding.
LA Times here
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