DON THOMPSON
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO — California prison officials have halted an effort aimed at forcing warring prison gangs to get along with each other after the inmates wound up brawling and even rioting when placed together in prison recreation yards, officials told The Associated Press.
The effort started a year ago with officials gradually allowing prisoners from different gangs into exercise yards to try to get them to make peace. This permitted officials to reduce harsh restrictions that kept gang members locked up in cells for lengthy periods without access to rehabilitation programs that could allow them to shorten their sentences.
But the greater liberty generated the same result at several state prisons: Gang members brawled in what critics labeled "gladiator fight
