Convicted Murderers Paroled

Sacramento, CA – The Associated Press reports Governor Jerry Brown continues to allow convicted murderers to be paroled from California prisons at a much higher rate than his predecessors. The Governor’s Office says out of 470 Board of Parole Hearings’ decisions to free convicted killers in 2012, Brown let 80 percent of them stand. The AP says that is a much higher rate than his predecessor, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger only allowed about a quarter of the recommended paroles to stand during his eight years in office.

A factor in the Governor’s increased release rate is the January 2010 federal court panel that ordered the state to reduce the inmate population of its 33 adult prisons. The order was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in May 2011. As a result, the state is mandated to lower its prison population by approximately 30,000 inmates by June 27, 2013.