A federal judge gave final approval to the settlement of a class action filed on behalf of hundreds of prisoners held in solitary confinement, sometimes for years, at California's Pelican Bay prison.
     Under the terms of the settlement approved by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken on Tuesday, the state will continue the process of reviewing the cases of prisoners placed in indefinite solitary confinement.
     Since September, when the preliminary settlement was originally announced, 686 of the total 1,813 prisoners entitled to review have begun that process and 437 have already been returned to the general prison population. ...

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