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A circuit judge in southern Kentucky has granted a prosecutor a temporary restraining order blocking the state from continuing implementation of its accelerated inmate release plan in three counties. The ruling by Pulaski Circuit Judge David Tapp covers the region where he hears felony cases: Pulaski, Rockcastle and Lincoln Counties.
Commonwealth's Attorney Eddy Montgomery, who prosecutes cases in that three county region, says the state's early release plan endangers the public. "I'm afraid that the legislature and Department of Corrections are going to nickel and dime themselves into causing a real tragedy."
The cost cutting plan, made part of the state's budget by the General Assembly, has resulted in 1,016 inmates being discharged from prison and 886 felons who were on parole being released from supervision.
Montgomery claims that is illegal and unconstitutional. On August 27 the judge will consider the prosecutor's request to expand the ban statewide.
Lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee defended the accelerated release plan Tuesday, while fielding criticism from victims' advocate Jo Ann Phillips. "If people can be let out of prison as a budget matter perhaps they should have never been in prison to begin with," Phillips said. Her own daughter was murdered in 1990.
Releasing inmates and parolees earlier is estimated to save $12.5 million over the next two years.
"Many victims have even said where do we go to surrender," Phillips said. "How can we stop be re victimized by our own system."
Kentucky Justice Secretary Michael Brown defends the plan, saying it is not a random program, but one based on a mathematical formula and that all of the inmates released with have "been in custody or supervision for their full minimum of expiration of sentence."
Both he and State Representative Greg Stumbo, (D) Prestonsburg, a former Attorney General, disagreed with Montgomery's claims that it puts the public at risk.
"I'm not even going to get into any innuendo about their being some subjective risk assessment," said Brown, characterizing Montgomery's quote as "cavalier."
"If it's fear then we don't have any evidence that would lead us to believe that the general public is in any different situation than it was prior to the enactment of this program," said Stumbo
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