Antonio Hinojosa v. Connie Gipson

OPINION

BEA, Circuit Judge:

Prison gangs threaten the safety and security of prisons and prisoners. California has sought to combat these threats— and punish prison-gang affiliation — by segregating prison-gang members and associates from the general prison population. To that end, California houses prison-gang members and associates in Security Housing Units (SHUs), maximum-security facilities in which prisoners are kept in solitary confinement for over 22 hours a day.

California also encourages good behavior among its prisoners with good-conduct credits that reduce prisoners’ sentences. Most…