Colorado savings small from early release

DENVER, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- The Colorado Parole Board is rejecting about 80 percent of the prison inmates eligible for an early-release program aimed at saving money, officials say.

The early-out program was aimed at helping close a $318 million budget gap, The Denver Post reported Thursday. Officials believed $19 million could be shaved from the state's corrections budget based on more than 8,000 inmates eligible for early release during the next two years and an estimate that the Parole Board would accept 80 percent.

David Michaud, a former Denver police chief who heads the Parole Board, said finding inmates who won't be a public risk if they are freed early is tougher than officials expected.

"I've been a cop since 1963 and I've spoken to hundreds of victims. I'm not going to let someone out early if I don't think it's safe," he said. "I don't care how much money they save or don't save."

State Attorney General John Suthers said many inmates imprisoned for non-violent crimes have histories of earlier violence.