Denver expects to release more prostitutes and nonviolent offenders from jail to make room for dangerous criminals, says the Rocky Mountain News. The change is a result of a judge’s ruling that prompted a recalculation of how “trusty time” is awarded to inmates. The facility held 2,145 prisoners yesterday; it was designed for 1,514.
The jail may release inmates early for safety reasons. Those who might be sprung sooner than expected include defendants accused of prostitution, disturbing the peace, loitering and other ordinance violations. Early release does not apply to those accused of domestic violence or drunken driving; inmates must have served at least 50 percent of their sentence. The judge ruled that “trusty time” must be credited incrementally as time is served, similar to how an employee earns vacation time. For example, inmates had been getting out of jail after serving 18 days of a 30-day sentence. Now, the inmate will have to serve 21 days. Inmates will now serve about three extra days per each 30 days of a sentence.
Link: http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3906541,00.html