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| Fifteen released after rulings |
| By The Associated Press |
| Published: 01/27/2009 |
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IOWA - The Iowa Department of Corrections on Monday said 15 sex offenders must be immediately released following a pair of Iowa Supreme Court rulings. In the rulings issued last week, the court overrode corrections officials' interpretation of state law regarding "earned time" for inmates. The court found that earned time can't be taken away from the prisoners who refuse to participate or fail sex offender treatment programs if their crime was committed before a change in state law took effect Jan. 1, 2001. "We knew that there was a risk to this at the time, but our feeling was it's a public safety measure, we want to hold sex offenders as accountable as we possibly can while they are in our custody and we applied it to everybody, but the court said 'No,"' said Fred Scaletta, a corrections department spokesman. After a review, he said officials found that the court's ruling applies to 15 offenders who must immediately be released. Troy Price, a spokesman for Gov. Chet Culver, said the governor has directed corrections officials to notify victims of the releases and ensure that the offenders have been registered on the state's Sex Offender Registry Program, which allows public safety officials to track where they are living. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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