Mar. 5, 2008 -- With more than 173,000 inmates crowded into prisons designed to house half that number, California's correctional system is at a breaking point. Severe prison overcrowding gives rise to unsafe conditions for inmates and staff, while the opportunities for offenders to turn their lives around and prepare for release are scarce.

The result: California's correctional system is failing in its primary mission to protect public safety.

On March 15 the University of San Francisco Law Review will present a one-day symposium titled Confronting the Crisis: Current State Initiatives and Lasting Solutions for California's Prison Conditions.

"The Law Review picked this topic to bring wider awareness to the foremost political and legal issue currently facing California," said Ed Farrell 3L, Law Review Symposium editor who is organizing the event with Professor Suzanne Mounts. "The state's prisons are in a critical state and effective answers to this crisis need to be addressed. Similar to past Law Review symposia which have tackled tough social and legal issues, this year's event was chosen to find reforms and answers for a state correctional system that has been suffering for more than 30 years."

The Hon. Thelton Henderson, a federal judge in the Northern District of California known for advancing civil rights as a lawyer, educator and jurist, will deliver the keynote address. In a 2005 decision, Henderson found that substandard medical care in the California prison system violated prisoners' rights and led to unnecessary injuries and deaths. Saying he was acting urgently correct "deplorable conditions," Henderson appointed an administrator to take over the state's prison health care system.

Panel discussions will focus on several aspects of the state's correctional crisis, including federal litigation, sentencing reform, parole reform, and AB 900, the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act, signed last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill commits at least $7 billion in funding for the expansion of bed space in current prisons and new county jails, as well as funding for new local "reentry" centers to facilitate inmate transition from prison into the community. This symposium will review whether AB 900 creates a viable framework for a long-term solution to California's prison crisis.

Speakers include Donald Specter '78, director of the Prison Law Office; Michael Jacobson, director of The Vera Institute of Justice; Barry Krisberg, president of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency; and Joyce Hayhoe, Schwarzenegger's primary legislative spokesperson on correctional issues.

For information on the symposium, go to http://www.usfca.edu/lawreview/Symposium42/Symposium42Home.html