A showdown between federal judges and California lawmakers is looming with California's overcrowded prisons in the balance. In August, a federal court ordered the state to come up with a plan to reduce its prison population by 40,000 over the next two years. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently submitted his plan but it falls short of the goal, reducing the current population of more than 150,000 by just over 18,000 over the next two years. A second plan would meet the goal, but would take five years.
But does balancing the books put public safety at risk? Adam Gelb is a public safety policy expert from the Pew Center on the States and he joins us now live from Atlanta.
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