Overcrowding blamed in riot at Calif. prison

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Inmates at an overcrowded California prison tore doors from their hinges and broke off toilets and sinks in a four-hour riot that injured 175 people, and many fear the crowding that may have helped escalate the brawl will get worse with $1.2 billion in budget cuts.

A national expert warned 20 months ago that the Chino prison, which held nearly twice as many men as it was designed for, was “a serious disturbance waiting to happen” because of crowding.

The fight, which appeared to be racially motivated, comes at a critical time for California prisons. Next week, state lawmakers begin deciding how to cut $1.2 billion from the corrections budget, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal to trim the state inmate population by about 27,000 inmates to save money.

Prison watchdogs and some state lawmakers were quick to blame Saturday’s riot on overcrowding. The California Institution for Men in Chino holds 5,900 men but was designed for 3,000.

Inmates suffered stab and head wounds as they attacked one another with makeshift weapons, including shards of glass and broken water pipes. Sixteen inmates remained hospitalized Monday, state prisons spokeswoman Terry Thornton said.

“It looks like they destroyed anything they could get their hands on,” said Lt. Mark Hargrove, a spokesman for the prison.