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State will not release prisoners early, Bredesen says



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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
Posted: Wednesday, January 6, 2010 11:17 am
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In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, Gov. Phil Bredesen rejected a proposal to save state money by releasing some non-violent offenders early.

Bredesen said the release of up to 3,000 inmates would not save the state any much-needed cash because the space would only be filled with current inmates from over-crowded county jails.

"We are paying for prisoners in local jails (and) if we created space, we would move some of those up," Bredesen told the AP. "And the history has been, when there's open slots in local jails, local judges tend to fill them up with more prisoners."

Earlier this week, state Rep. Kent Coleman told the Rutherford County Commission early release of some nonviolent felons may be possible to free up space for a new law that requires offenders who commit aggravated robbery with use of a deadly weapon to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release status.

Because of the tight budget and more violent offenders staying in jail longer, some nonviolent offenders may be pushed out of local prisons, Coleman said.

Tennessee could be facing a $1.4 billion budget deficit this year and the state is on track to collect 10 percent less in revenue this fiscal year compared to last year. The deficit comes from the dire economy, which has seen lower revenue from falling sales tax and other fees.

Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.
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Tags: Crime, Kent Coleman, Phil Bredesen, State
Member Opinions:
By: Farmall on 1/7/10
Can't believe our wonderful governor was even considering this in the first place.


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