Expert warned officials of crowded California prison

Next week, lawmakers begin deciding how to cut $1.2 billion from the corrections budget, and will also consider Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to trim the state inmate population by about 27,000 inmates to save money.

Inmates at the California Institution for Men in Chino tore doors from their hinges and broke off toilets and sinks in a four-hour riot Saturday, and many fear the crowding that may have helped escalate the brawl — which appeared to be racially motivated — will only get worse with budget cuts.

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

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

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