State - Desegregation at both Mule Creek State Prison in Ione and the Sierra Conservation Center in Calaveras will continue after a temporary suspension by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on October 10th. All 30 male prisons in California are scheduled to comply by 2010 with a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court that said California's unwritten policy of segregating inmates by race in their cells needed to be reviewed by an appellate court. A settlement later created a policy mandating that prison staff fill open bunks regardless of race or ethnicity. The changeover was supposed to begin July 1, but has been delayed by discussions with employee unions and concerns over possible violence. The Department of Corrections has long used race as a factor in segregating men, based on a history of racial and gang-related violence. On October 1st, the Sierra Conservation Center, or SCC, officially started the desegregation, which had already started at Mule Creek. Officials at the SCC said prison inmates refused to eat or work for four days following the start of integration in minimum security. Officials at the prison are not sure what prompted the Corrections Department to drop the suspension. Although authorities at both prisons are remaining cautious, they don’t anticipate any major problems. Story by Alex Lane (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).