MORE INMATE RELEASES SEEN FOR DECEMBER

Thousands of prisoners are eligible when state parole board next meets

MONTGOMERY - Extra parole officers and additional parole hearings have
helped the state's prisons lower inmate populations in recent months,
according to updates from two state officials Friday.

Speaking before the Alabama Sentencing Commission, Prison Commissioner Donal
Campbell said the state has been able to return some female prisoners from
out-of-state prisons and reduced inmate rolls enough that it doesn't have
any inmates in county jails who have been there more than 30 days.

The state prison system is under several court orders, including two to
reduce the number of inmates and another requiring the removal of state
prisoners from county jails within 30 days.

William Segrest, executive director of the Board of Pardons and Paroles,
told the commission that extra money provided by Gov. Bob Riley has led to
3,094 inmates being considered under an expedited parole docket started in
April. Among those considered, 1,832 were granted parole - 380 women and
1,452 men.

A second parole board will meet Dec. 1 to consider the possible release of
thousands of more inmates.

Segrest said the Board of Pardons and Paroles isn't operating under any
quotas or mandates for the number of prisoners to be released.

Campbell said the first candidates for early release in December will likely
be from work-release programs. There are roughly 3,000 inmates on
work-release eligible under the early release guidelines that will consider
those convicted of DUIs, minor drug offenses and petty theft crimes.

Other inmates who may be eligible to join work-release may be considered by
the new parole board, Campbell said.

"The inmates that will be left will not be eligible for work-release," he
said.

Even with the early release of prisoners, the fact that many are in work
release doesn't substantially help the state's prison overcrowding problem,
Campbell said.

He stopped short of saying that it would end the work release program, which
generates roughly $17 million of the $20 million it costs to run each.

That sparked a debate among commission members, which includes judges,
district attorneys and others, about whether it is wise to release inmates
who have served their sentences without a transition back to civilian life.

Segrest presented the results of a Department of Corrections survey on the
number of prisoners released in 1999 who ended up back in prison. Segrest
said of 7,946 people released, 2,683 returned to state custody. But those
who were paroled returned at a far lower rate than those who simply served
out their sentences - 22.2 percent of parolees returned compared to 37.1
percent of those who'd served their time, Segrest said. He also said the
state's plans to open transition centers, which are intended to help
convicts with mental illness or substance-abuse problems, is on hold until
more money becomes available. The Lurleen B. Wallace Developmental Center in
Decatur is among those considered for a transition center. Sentencing
Commission members are also looking for alternatives to harsh sentencing
laws that have loaded state prisons and limited judges' discretion on how to
punish criminals.

Jefferson County District Judge O.L. "Pete" Johnson summed up the state's
current sentencing problems, saying, "Just locking folks up damn sure don't
work."