Even as it prepares for a courtroom showdown over the use of prolonged solitary confinement to keep order in its prisons, California has adopted emergency rules to dial down such isolation.

Inmates may no longer be put in isolation for refusing a cell assignment, for example, one of several prison infractions for which solitary confinement punishment has been reduced or dropped. And those being disciplined with segregation can cut that punishment in half with good behavior.

"This is part of an ongoing evolution in how we manage inmates in segregation," said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the corrections department. "There will be more changes." ...

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