Overcrowding in the Oakland County Jail triggered the early release of 242 inmates yesterday and prompted judges and law enforcement officials to begin implementing a new procedure aimed at reducing the jail population. This was the third such mass release since August from the jail in Pontiac.
About 172 inmates were to be released Thursday and today, Oakland County Circuit Chief Judge Wendy Potts said.
"I won't sleep that well tonight, knowing I let people out of jail," she said.
The new plan allows district and circuit judges to release inmates with bonds of less than $500; those jailed for failing to pay child support, and those within five days of their scheduled releases.
Inmates to be released over the next few weeks consist of 96 people convicted of misdemeanor charges and 146 people convicted of felonies, said Potts, who ordered the sentence reductions.
Under the early release order, which state law requires because the jail is overcrowded, eligible inmates will get sentence reductions of up to 50 percent. Many inmates were convicted of crimes such as shoplifting, writing bad checks and failing to pay child support.
None of the inmates were convicted of a violent offense, and many will be released on probation.
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