CA State Prisons Early Release for Parole Violators
Over-crowded conditions in Chino, one of several state prisons to release parole violators early to alleviate system-wide stress.
California prison officials, facing severe overcrowding and a financial crisis, have been releasing inmates who were serving time for parole violations before they finished their scheduled terms. Full details on the San Francisco Chronicle.
State officials said the dozens of prisoners set free from the California Institution for Men in Chino and from lockups in San Diego and Shasta counties had 60 days or less left on their terms, or had been accused of violations and were awaiting hearings. The releases were approved by the state parole board.
At least 89 inmates have been freed or approved for early release during the past two months. Others have been sent to home detention, drug rehabilitation programs or similar alternative punishments.
They were screened to ensure that they had never been convicted of the most serious crimes, such as murder, manslaughter, kidnapping or sex offenses, the officials said. They may have been convicted of grand theft, weapons possession, driving under the influence of alcohol or other crimes. Their parole may have been revoked for missing an appointment with a parole agent, shoplifting, robbery or any number of other offenses.
The moves came as county authorities in Los Angeles and elsewhere said they could no longer house – and in some cases, threatened to release – inmates awaiting transfer to state prisons from their own teeming jails. Counties routinely hold newly convicted prisoners or those picked up on parole violations until the state can take them.
But California’s huge deficit has left the state without enough money to pay for all of those its laws designate for punishment. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers are considering numerous ways, including the early release of inmates, to save money by reducing a prison population of nearly 170,000.
No budget decisions have been made, and Schwarzenegger spokesman Matt David said the governor had been unaware of the recent releases, most of which were in response to complaints by Los Angeles County that the state had left nearly 2,000 prisoners in its jails. That number represents about 10 percent of the prisoners in the county’s jail system, which has a court-ordered population cap.
“This was an emergent crisis,” Terri McDonald, the state’s chief deputy secretary for adult operations at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “We don’t want a system failure in the county jail.”
The inmates released from Chino opened up beds for some of those being held in Los Angeles. McDonald said the state, to be “good partners” with the county, put other inmates in prison gymnasiums that officials had planned to stop using as dormitories, and took additional measures to free up space.
Complete story on the San Francisco Chronicle.
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