For Immediate Release:
December 16, 2002
Contact:                    Terry Sebastian, 502-564-2611;
    Lisa  Carnahan, 502-330-0362 cell;
    Pamela Trautner, 502-330-4967 cell

Governor Patton orders the early release of non-violent offenders
to offset budget shortfalls for the Department of Corrections

FRANKFORT, KY - In his continuing efforts to manage the financial woes of the state, Governor Paul Patton signed an order today that allows the Department of Corrections this week to release a total of 567 non-violent Class D inmates who are nearing completion of their sentences.  

Patton approved the conditional commutation of the inmates in an effort to balance the budget of the Department of Corrections, which is faced with maintaining the cost of its largest felon population in history while the state suffers repeated revenue shortfalls.  

“The release of inmates is yet another budget reduction that I have asked the Department of Corrections to endure over the last year,” Patton said. “But this latest cost-cutting measure, the release of inmates, proves that there are no easy solutions in trying to get a grasp on Kentucky’s budget situation.”   

Beginning at noon on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 363 offenders will be discharged. The remaining 204 offenders will be discharged on Friday, Dec. 20. This reduction will bring the jail population of state inmates to 3,736 -- the figure in the spending plan for this fiscal year.   

Governor Patton’s Executive Order conditionally commutes the sentences of the offenders.  If they are convicted and sentenced for a new felony offense, the number of days the offender was released in advance will be added to the time he is ordered to serve for the new felony conviction and sentence. 

The Department of Corrections used specific and stringent criteria in choosing the inmates, Patton said. “All of them are incarcerated on non-violent offenses, and on average, they are within 80 days of being released.” 

The Department of Corrections notified victims, local jailers, law enforcement officials and county officials about the early release of the inmates, which includes 457 offenders coming from county jails, 102 from state institutions and eight from halfway houses. 

“The Department of Corrections identified offenders for this conditional commutation using its classification system,” said Barbara Jones, Deputy Secretary and General Counsel of the Justice Cabinet. “This system is used to identify offenders for safety and security concerns as well as for treatment and program needs.   

“The system not only identified, but also excluded certain offenders that include violent offenders, sex offenders and DUI 4^th offenders. Also excluded are inmates with serious mental health needs who currently pose a danger to themselves or others.”  

The release will result in a substantial savings to the Department of Corrections’ budget. The department already has cut its budget by $23.1 million through several cost-cutting measures and it still faces a shortfall of $6 million in FY03 and $11 million in FY04.  

Options for further reductions have been identified and will be implemented as soon as possible in efforts to address the department’s anticipated shortfalls over the next two years.   

Patton previously discussed reducing the $28.76 per diem paid to county jails for each state inmate as an option to help deal with the financial shortfall. 

“While we realize the financial burden this inmate reduction will cause to the counties, it’s simply unavoidable at this time due to the state’s financial condition,” Patton said. “Right now we are not cutting the jail’s per diem - which, in fact, has increased every year I’ve been in office.” 

The Patton administration has worked to help counties by increasing the number of inmates housed in county jails by more than 2,000 since 1996, keeping these inmates close to home and able to work in the community. 

The per diem for every Kentucky inmate housed in private prisons will be reduced by $1 for each 100 out of state inmates contracted to be housed in those facilities. This is expected to save $200,000 from Corrections’ budget this fiscal year. In addition the state’s reliance on private prisons has been reduced by 400 beds. 

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Note: A complete listing of the inmates & other information can be found at: www.cor.state.ky.us/commutations A copy of the executive order can be found at: http://gov.state.ky.us/pressreleases/2002/prisonerrelease.htm