Free Republic

At least 73 inmates released early this year from the Los Angeles County Jail have been rearrested within weeks, in some cases days, on new charges as serious as kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon, according to an LAPD audit obtained by the Daily News. The three-month Los Angeles Police Department audit completed April 1 has fueled criticism of the controversial Sheriff's Department program under which up to 400 inmates are being released from jail after serving only a fraction of their sentences. The Daily News reported Sunday on the case of a Burbank woman who allegedly was beaten...

<p>About 130 inmates on average are released early each day from county jails to save money, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department data show.</p> <p>The inmates -- robbers, auto thieves, drunk drivers and abusive spouses -- and other convicts are freed early as part of a plan by Sheriff Lee Baca to offset millions of dollars cut from his budget.</p>

<p>Gov. Gray Davis has rejected legislation closing the state budget gap by $70 million next year through the early release of thousands of prisoners.</p> <p>The governor announced his veto Tuesday just before enacting billions of dollars in hard-won budget cuts agreed to by the same Democratic leaders who sought the early-release measure.</p>

<p>SACRAMENTO - As California's budget woes have escalated, state prison officials quietly have been studying a range of options to save hundreds of millions of dollars, including releasing non-violent inmates, delaying the opening of a maximum security lockup and early discharge from parole, according to internal documents obtained by the Mercury News.</p>

<p>California governor Gray Davis is fine-tuning a new budget proposal that could raise taxes for some and slash some public service programs for others.</p> <p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - Proposals to release some nonviolent and elderly prisoners early have emerged in California and other states confronting massive budget shortfalls.</p>

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - State prison officials are considering an early release program for some inmates convicted under the mandatory sentencing law overwhelmingly approved by voters in 1994. But critics are calling the idea a betrayal of the 1994 law, which was passed to protect crime victims' rights. The Oregon Corrections Department plans to submit its early release proposal to the governor and the Department of Administrative Services, which will decide whether to refer it to the 2003 Legislature in January. The proposal would allow selected prisoners to earn credit for good conduct and participation in work and rehabilitation programs,...