LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) - Kentucky prisons are a little less crowded tonight, after almost 1,000 inmates were released statewide Tuesday. It is all in an effort to save money.
Kentucky House Bill 463 mandated the prisoners’ release in an effort to save the Commonwealth $400 million over the next ten years.
But some people think that freeing so many prisoners will not come without serious costs to society.
Dozens of buses left prisons statewide this morning, headed for the Louisville Greyhound Bus Terminal. Each was loaded with prisoners who were released in mass at least six months early.
Decarlo Robeson was one of more than 150 prisoners originally convicted in Jefferson county who returned to the bus station today.
“I think it's just a blessing. I get to see my family,” Robeson said. “I didn't get to make New Years or Christmas, but I'm happy. I’m blessed to be free.”
The release of 939 state prisoners six months early will save Kentucky at least $10 million dollars since each inmate costs the state more than $60 a day to incarcerate.
Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney David Stengel says spending money on prisons is the best investment Kentucky can make.
“Incarceration, oddly enough, does work, but we just apparently can't afford it,” Stengel said.
Stengel says that there are already alternative sentencing programs and other options aimed at keeping all but the worst criminals out of prison.
“By the time they end up inside a hard cell, they've earned it. Now to see them coming out even six months early bothers me. It bothers all the prosecutors. It bothers the public, I'm sure,” Stengel said.
“I'm a repeat offender because every time I get out, I ain't got nothing to go to except my family, who's got burdens of their own, you know. They ain't got nothing for you once you get out,” said an inmate who did not want to be named.
The inmates released Tuesday, some who have been behind bars a decade or more, enter a job market already with few openings.
They also all have felony records, making it even more difficult to find employment. That is why agencies like the Healing Place and Goodwill Industries are stepping in to help out.
“We can't do nothing about them being released. They've already been released. So we need to assist them finding work,” Kim Colbert of Goodwill Industries.
The inmates released who were convicted in Jefferson County included robbers, kidnappers and sex offenders.
Officials say many of those convicted of lesser crimes and are eligible for release have already been paroled in an effort to ease overcrowding.
