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| More Than 100 Inmates Released Early from Crowded Pa. County Prison |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 04/16/2003 |
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More than 100 prison inmates have been released early in Northampton County because of problems with overcrowding, and judges will look to hand down fewer and shorter sentences in the future, authorities said. Early last month, County Executive Glenn F. Reibman asked judges to cut 20 percent from their budgets. The courts then directed Judge Stephen Baratta to look at current cases to see what inmates could be let out early. 'One of the reasons we had to raise taxes in 2003 was for prison overcrowding,' County Executive Glenn F. Reibman said. By April 11, the number of inmates had decreased dramatically. The prison population was at 629 inmates that day, compared to 738 inmates in the county jail and other facilities on Feb. 28, prison officials said. Many of the prisoners released were serving time for parole violations, others were awaiting trial and others got parole earlier than scheduled, officials said. Reibman has planned an expansion of the 650-bed prison since 2000, but it has been delayed because of opposition and money problems. It is not expected to be completed until late 2004 at the earliest. The county budgeted $3 million to pay other counties to house some inmates this year, but projections showed that wouldn't work for long. The solution of releasing inmates early is also raising eyebrows. Angus Love, executive director of Pennsylvania's Institutional Law Project, who has been keeping an eye on conditions at the jail, said he didn't believe releasing inmates early was a good idea. 'It is kind of odd that you would just turn around and release people because you run out of money,' Love said. 'It hurts the credibility of the criminal justice system.' Court Administrator James Onembo said none of the inmates released was deemed a threat to society. Judges will also look to hand down fewer, shorter jail sentences and use probation more often until the overcrowding is resolved, Onembo said. |
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