KY- Parole credit heading before state's Supreme Court

8-17-2009 Kentucky:

FRANKFORT, KY. -- A controversial program that has allowed murderers and sex offenders to leave prison earlier as a way to save the cash-strapped state money is up before Kentucky's high court this week.

Attorneys are scheduled to appear Wednesday before the Kentucky Supreme Court to deliver oral arguments in the case. Attorney General Jack Conway claims the legislatively approved plan was unconstitutional and improperly enforced by the state Department of Corrections.

"The attorney general believes this case sets an important precedent," said Shelley Catharine Johnson, a spokeswoman in Conway's office. "It is important for the court to rule on this matter."

Kentucky lawmakers approved the measure that's at issue during the 2008 legislative session as part of the state budget bill. It was aimed as a way to cut down costs on what has become one of Kentucky's most expensive budget drivers - state prisons.

Kentucky currently has about 22,000 inmates. Last year's corrections budget was about $457 million, out of an approximately $9.4 billion total state spending plan.

When lawmakers initially approved the parole credit program, it was set to expire with the two-year budget in 2010. Since then, the General Assembly has passed subsequent legislation that put the policy into state law, excluding sexual and violent offenders.

Gov. Steve Beshear's administration has argued prison officials have simply followed the law and applied it as the legislature wished. Under the plan, state prison officials have been giving inmates more credit than normal for time served on parole. The extra credit has gone toward fulfilling inmates' minimum sentences.

Since the program's inception, prison officials have released 3,127 inmates from incarceration and 3,874 from parole, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet spokeswoman Jennifer Brislin said.

But the program sparked concern among prosecutors.

Pulaski County Commonwealth's Attorney Eddy Montgomery opposed the plan, which is currently not in force within the boundaries of the judicial district he covers. Montgomery said the state released thousands of inmates illegally by giving them retroactive credit for time spent on parole toward their sentences.

Montgomery said it's an issue important for the courts to decide because it could set a precedent for future budget bills.

It's uncertain what effect the high court's ruling would have on the program.

More than 7,000 people - either inmates or parolees - have already benefited from the program. And Kentucky lawmakers have already changed the law and put it into state statute.

But there's also the matter of the inmates already released.

"The question would be, 'Well, what about the several thousand people they released? Were they released legally or illegally, and do we need to go get them?'" Montgomery said. "They were released illegally, but I think at this point, with the budget crisis that we're in, it's not wise to go back and get them." ..Source.. by JOE BIESK