One of the world's most notorious prisons could soon see its inmate population cut in half. An appeals court has ordered state officials to reduce the population at San Quentin citing a "deliberate indifference" to the plight of inmates during the pandemic.

By cutting the population the prison would be forced to release or transfer about 1,100 inmates.

San Quentin had one of the worst outbreaks in the nation with 2,200 inmates getting the virus and 28 dying.

A deadline for the population cut has not been set.