Inmates, California officials warn prisons crowded

IONE, Calif., Feb 16 (Reuters) Convicted murderer Greg Rollo knows the brutality of life behind bars after 31 years in a prison. But he says life has grown much worse since he was moved to a triple-bunk bed in an open gym with 199 others.

California inmates, officials and courts are all sounding warnings that prison overcrowding poses a growing danger and is undermining California's stated objective of rehabilitating inmates after they have served their time.

''The majority of these guys are getting out; they are going to be in your neighbourhood,'' said Rollo, 54, who admits to committing ''a terrible crime'' but believes overcrowding will only make inmates more hostile. ''Do you want less crime or do you want retribution against criminals?'' Jake Serna, 48, another inmate, interjected, ''Isn't it a crime for them to house us like a bunch of animals?'' As the most populous U.S. state, California has a particularly pressing problem and its response is being closely watched.

A report by Pew Charitable Trusts on Wednesday estimated the United States faces costs of up to 27.5 billion dollars to handle its growing prison population over the next five years.

At California's Mule Creek State Prison, where Rollo is incarcerated, an inmate is raped every few months and many others are assaulted, according to both guards and prisoners.

Prisoners often bemoan their fate. What is unusual in California is that complaints about overcrowding are coming from both sides of the prison bars.

''We have 172,000 prisoners in facilities designed to hold about 100,000,'' Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger said last month.

''Our prison system is a powder keg. It poses a danger to the prisoners, a danger to officers, and a danger to the well-being of the public if ... we are forced to release prisoners because of overcrowding.'' Residents of Ione say that excess waste water going into the prison treatment system has even polluted local wells.

PANTS FOR A FAT MAN? Mule Creek prison, about 110 miles northeast of San Francisco, has 15 housing units surrounded by an octagonal electrified fence and a capacity of 3,000 prisoners. It holds 3,942 inmates.

''This is not conducive to good mental health and rehabilitation,'' said Glenn Hanes, 35, one of the inmates housed on a triple bunk bed.

''A system that has over a 70 percent recidivism rate is a failure,'' said Hanes, an intense, well-spoken man who is serving a 15-year-to-life sentence for second-degree murder.

''Building new prisons is like getting a fat man new pants.'' Republican Schwarzenegger wants to add tens of thousands of prison beds and ship some inmates out of California. And state officials are studying ways to reduce the prison population after years of tough sentencing, including a ''three strikes'' policy for repeat offenders.

''I'm in prison for the rest of my life for the possession of 11 grams of marijuana,'' said Dennis Howie, 53, a heavily tattooed prisoner with three prior robbery convictions.

At Mule Creek, 800 men sleep on the triple bunks in public areas and share toilets. Some consider themselves lucky to be locked in narrow cells with just another inmate and toilet.

Daniel Carpenter, 48, convicted of molesting a minor, complained he has been assaulted even in his double cell. In the brutal pecking order of prison life, child molesters are seen as the lowest of the low.

''If not for the overcrowding, I'd be in a single cell,'' he said during a visit to the prison library. ''This is cruel and inhuman.'' California already spends an average of 90 dollars per day to house inmates, so more money for prisons is controversial. Many voters are skeptical about improving the lot of criminals.

Among the prisoners at Mule Creek is Charles ''Tex'' Watson, Charles Manson's top lieutenant, serving a life sentence for murder. He sat quietly in the yard.

Another is Lyle Menendez, who with his brother, killed his wealthy Beverly Hills parents.

''We know you guys out there see us as monsters,'' said convicted murderer Lance Wright, 43. ''I know its difficult for society to open their arms.'' Warden Rich Subia argues that overcrowding keeps him from providing better rehabilitation training, which he believes will ultimately benefit society far beyond the prison walls.

''I'm not providing them with effective programs,'' he said.

''Do you want them back more productive or do you want them worse than when you sent them to me?'' REUTERS PB VC0940