A panel of federal judges ordered California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) to release some inmates from the state’s crowded prisons immediately, the LA Times reported Thursday.
Brown can decide how he will fulfill this order, either by expanding the state’s good-time credits that allow prisoners to finish their sentences early, substituting other prisoners for early relief, or creating any other method that would result in equal reductions to the amount of people in the state prison system.
“All such state and local laws and regulations are hereby waived, effective immediately,” the judges order read, according to the Times.
Brown has previously challenged the federal court’s population limits on state prisons, which were established to ensure California improves living and healthcare conditions in their prisons. He has also started the process of appealing these caps before the U.S. Supreme Court for a second time.