DENVER GRANTS EARLY RELEASE TO 100 INMATES

Denver jail officials this week sprang around 100 inmates to make room for
new offenders at the overcrowded facility.

The massive release on Tuesday put Wednesday's jail population at
1,975 -- down from the all-time high of 2,038 Saturday.

That was the first time in the county jail's 44-year history that the
number of inmates passed 2,000. The Smith Road facility -- build to
hold 1,300 inmates -- stayed above the 2,000 mark for four straight
days.

Undersheriff John Simonet said the inmates chosen for early release
had six days or less to serve on their sentences.

"We didn't open the gate like Moses and part the water," he said. "We
made it somewhat limited. Someone may have had only two or three days
left on a 60-day sentence."

The release comes a week before an independent auditor is scheduled to
inspect the jail to make sure prisoners aren't being crammed into too
small a space.

Inmates are double-bunked and sleeping in the middle of dormitories,
Simonet said. The influx of prisoners over the weekend required
deputies to place people in the chapel and the gymnasium.

"You need those places for recreation and for other activities to
reduce the tension," Simonet said.

The inmates given early release had been convicted of violating Denver
municipal or traffic ordinances.

Simonet said the jail did not release inmates who are serving
sentences for domestic violence, assault, menacing, gun offenses or
similar crimes.

"Hopefully, nobody who has been released has been picked up since
then," he said.

In the past, jail officials have released inmates early to relieve
overcrowding but usually in groups of 10 or 20, never 100 at a time.

"This is a first," Simonet said.

Denver has a constitutional requirement to provide a humane
environment for prisoners, Simonet said.

"There are no waivers to the Constitution," he said. "We have to
comply."

Rocky Mountain News
400 W. Colfax
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: (303) 892-5000
Fax: (303) 892-5499

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