The court also described a chaotic prison system where prisoners are stacked in triple-bunk beds in gymnasiums, hallways and day rooms, where guards are often forced to monitor scores of inmates at a time, and where ill inmates die for lack of treatment.

“In these overcrowded conditions, inmate-on-inmate violence is almost impossible to prevent, infectious diseases spread more easily, and lockdowns are sometimes the only means by which to maintain control,” the three judges wrote. “In short, California’s prisons are bursting at the seams and are impossible to manage.”

Even with the cuts, California prisons will be at 137.5% of capacity. The Judges had some suggestions:

Such a reduction is possible, the court said, by ending the practice of automatically returning parolees to prison for minor parole violations and by increasing inmates' sentence reductions for good behavior and work participation in prison - proposals that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has previously endorsed.

The Court found prison conditions violate the 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Both Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown said in the past they would appeal a ruling ordering this kind of relief.