So what can be done to keep this sort of thing from happening, other than actually properly funding the prisons, and revoking three strikes (AKA 3 nonviolent felonies, you're gone for good)?LA Times wrote:Chino prison riot quelled, but Southern California prisons remain locked down
12:20 PM | August 9, 2009
An overnight riot between African American and Latino inmates inside a Chino prison has been quelled, but the facility and other Southern California prisons remain in lockdown today, authorities said.
Prison officers at the California Institute for Men cleared out a series of barracks where some 1,300 inmates had started rioting Saturday night, officials said.
More than 250 inmates suffered injuries -- including small cuts, serious stab wounds and head trauma -- in the disturbance, the largest since December 2006, according to Lt. Mark Hargrove.
Most of the injured were treated at the prison; 55 had to be taken to nearby hospitals.
The riot erupted at 8:20 p.m. Saturday in medium-security, dormitory-style barracks. The fighting quickly spread to six other barracks and lasted until around midnight.
“When you start rioting 200 in a unit, everyone knows it,” said Hargrove.
A fire ignited during the chaos and caused significant damage to one of the buildings.
At least 80 officers surrounded the barracks and ordered inmates to come out. Hargrove said they sprayed pepper spray, used batons and shot foam projectiles to remove inmates who had barricaded themselves inside. By 7 a.m. today, the barracks were clear, and all the inmates were being treated for injuries or had been locked in other units.
All prisons in Southern California were put on lockdown as a result of the riot. Visitation was suspended until further notice, officials said.
Investigators were still determining the cause of the melee and what sparked the fire. They planned to take an inventory of weapons found at the scene.
-- Joe Mozingo
