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A panel of federal judges has ordered the state to reduce its prison inmate population by 40,000. The judges scolded the state for not complying with previous orders to fix the prison health care system, and reduce overcrowding.

The brand-new deal to balance the state budget could be in jeopardy over details about prison cuts. Schwarzenegger Administration officials say the plan would shave more than a billion dollars from prison spending by reducing the population by about 27,000 inmates.

California is a mess financially, and one of its huge burdens is its prisons. The state spends $10 billion a year on its prison system, which once was a model for states to follow but now is a model of what to avoid, NPR's Laura Sullivan tells Renee Montagne.

Three undocumented minors who were arrested on the way to school in San Diego last month and deported to Mexico have been allowed back into the United States. As KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson explains federal officials have allowed the teenagers to come home on humanitarian parole.

Two decades ago, Xiao Bin, a 42-year-old factory worker, claimed he saw tanks crush student demonstrators in Tiananmen Square. After he spoke to American journalists, he was sent to labor camp — and his story became a well-known cautionary tale.

In the California prison system, 70 percent of those jailed once, will re-offend and get sent back. Reporter Heather Hill explores one non-profit that gives parolees and ex-inmates the skills and reso

California has begun sending 5,000 layoff notices out to state workers. The job cuts are part of Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposal to balance a growing budget deficit. The lion’s share of the layoffs – about 3,600 – will come from the state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Secretary Matthew Cate says the impact will be felt throughout the department.

Airs Tuesdays, December 27, 2011 - January 10, 2012 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV

Obama's decision not to prosecute CIA agents for torture has incited bitter debate. It's also raised questions about punishment already meted out to those low-ranking soldiers like Lynndie England, convicted in the 2004 abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison.

What are the biggest challenges parolees face upon their release from prison? What can California do to reduce the cycle of recidivism that has plagued our state's over-crowded prison population? Host Tom Fudge speaks to Second Chance Founder Scott Silverman about the Prisoner Reentry Employment Program (PREP). We also hear from Regina Nolte-Ware, who is a PREP graduate, about how the program has impacted her life.