Prisons:

22,000 PRISONERS COULD BE SET FREE EARLY TO SAVE MILLIONS

What a difference a budget crisis makes.

Less than six months ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised that
there was no way any California convict was going to get a break on
his prison term.

"I am here to tell you that the early release of inmates is totally
unacceptable," the governor said July 28. "They should only be let
out when they have served their sentences and are ready to return to
society. Period."

But with the state facing a $14.5 billion budget deficit over the
next 18 months, Schwarzenegger on Thursday announced that more than
22,000 nonviolent offenders will be released as much as 20 months
early over the next year and a half in an effort to slash $260
million from the Department of Corrections budget.

About half the inmates eligible for the early release program are
expected to be drug offenders, with most of the rest in custody for
property crimes like forgery, auto burglary and car theft,
corrections officials say.

The state expects to save another $110 million by placing the former
inmates on "summary parole," which means they won't have to meet with
parole officers and can't be returned to prison for a parole violation.

A panel of federal judges, upset about overcrowding in the state
prison system, is ready to slap a cap on the prison population, the
governor said, just as the state's fiscal crisis is forcing 10
percent, across-the-board cuts in state spending.

"So there are all kinds of problems developing," said Schwarzenegger,
who backed and signed legislation last year for new prison construction.

The decision to give an early release to inmates whose offenses are
"nonviolent, nonserious and not sexually related" was simply a matter
of money, said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger.

But prisoner advocates said Schwarzenegger's decision was long
overdue, citing studies showing that releasing inmates early doesn't
result in an increase in crime.

"California is imprisoning way too many people," said Rose Braz of
Oakland, campaign director for Critical Resistance, a group opposed
to expansion of prisons and incarceration. "It's not surprising to
see fear-mongering by opponents of early release, but decisions have
to be based on reality."

By dropping 22,000 prisoners from the system as part of efforts to
reduce the prison population by 35,000 inmates from the current total
of 172,000, the state will be able to eliminate about 6,000 prison
guard positions, with about 2,000 of those losses coming through
layoffs, said Seth Unger, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections.

Those convicted of nonviolent offenses typically are sent to state
prison for two years or less, said Steve Wagstaffe, chief deputy
district attorney in San Mateo County. Because prisoners get credit
for time served in county jail while awaiting trial, they could walk
onto the street after being sentenced to two years in state prison.

"This is a dramatic change in the criminal justice system," Wagstaffe
said. "It's as big as the changes in the early 1970s, when sentences
started to increase and more people were sent to prison."

The new parole rules for such nonviolent offenders also mean they
can't be quickly returned to prison violating parole. If police
discover someone on summary parole with narcotics, for example, they
can't simply ask a judge to send him to prison. They will have to
file new charges and put the parolee on trial, a long and often
expensive proposition.

If Schwarzenegger gets his way, plenty of ex-convicts are going to be
back on the street and local officials are worried about what that will mean.

Even nonviolent offenders often return to their communities with drug
problems, no jobs and no place to stay, said Alameda County
Supervisor Keith Carson.

"The state drops their problems on us and it's challenging for
counties to raise the money to deal with them," he said.