Published: October 01, 2008 05:16 pm            

Conway seeks halt to early prisoner release

Seeks statewide injunction

FRANKFORT — Attorney General Jack Conway will ask Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd to halt the early release of state inmates and to order those already released be picked up and reimprisoned.

Conway filed a motion Wednesday seeking an injunction against allowing parole credits and minimum calculations of sentences to reduce prison populations and costs. Shepherd scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. Thursday.

Lawmakers added language to the budget this spring to allow inmates credit for time previously served on parole before they committed violations and were returned to prison. They also added language encouraging the Department of Corrections to calculate the minimum sentence requirements before releasing prisoners.

The language was a response to exploding inmate populations and costs. The state has the fastest growing incarceration rate in the country – with approximately 21,700 inmates and a budget of about $400 million. In September, Pulaski Circuit Judge David Tapp granted Pulaski Commonwealth's Attorney Eddy Montgomery’s request for an injunction halting the program but it only applied to the 28th Circuit of Pulaski, Lincoln, and Rockcastle counties. Conway seeks a statewide injunction. (The state is seeking to have Tapp’s order dismissed or to transfer the matter to Franklin Circuit in a hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday in Somerset.)

Conway said the early release program endangers public safety, violates the state’s truth in sentencing law which requires juries to be told how long felons are likely to serve of any sentence, and is unconstitutional because it is applied retroactively.

Conway said 1,464 inmates have been released under the provisions in HB 406 and 2,153 parolees have been granted completion of sentences. Including eight convicted murderers, eight convicted rapists, three persons convicted of sodomy and 133 convicted of robbery.

“This is going way beyond non-violent offenders,” Conway said. One convicted of murder in Pulaski County was granted 905 days of parole credit for time on parole prior to subsequent felony convictions – “nearly three full years of his sentence.”

Conway contacted Gov. Steve Beshear before filing the suit. Beshear has asked the state Criminal Justice Council to recommend changes to the penal code and sentencing provisions by Dec. 1, in time for the 2009 General Assembly which convenes in January.

“The Department of Corrections has been following the General Assembly’s mandate in instituting the program,” Beshear said in a written statement. “Since HB 406 was enacted, lawsuits have been filed in various courts challenging the practice. To date, this matter has been challenged in a piecemeal fashion, so I welcome a statewide resolution to this matter and hope for a timely ruling.”

Conway conceded part of his motivation was to head off a myriad of suits in multiple circuits and jurisdictions. He didn’t dispute that some commonwealth's attorneys requested an injunction because it's “good politics” to appear to be tough on crime in their local communities.

“Prosecutors try to be tough on crime,” Conway said. “I understand what they’re saying and why they contacted me.”

Jennifer Brislin, spokeswoman for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, said the cabinet believes it is following lawmakers’ intent.

“We believe we are fully in compliance with the legislature’s mandate,” she said. “These actions are fully consistent with legislative intent.”

RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. He can be reached by e-mail at rellis@cnhi.com.

        

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