Many jail inmates in Los Angeles are being released early, only it's not because of good behavior. The Los Angeles Times reports that many offenders incarcerated for non-violent crimes including check kiting, petty theft, and drunk driving will not serve their full sentence due to the county's budget problems.
Because the county cannot afford to expand its jail and because jail overcrowding is considered cruel and unusual punishment, officials are left with the decision to release inmates early as a tactic to balance the budget. However, the decision angers anti-drunk driving advocates in the community.
"It disturbs us greatly," Gail Butler, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, told Los Angeles Times. "We consider DUI to be a violent crime."
The Los Angeles Times reports that most women only serve 20 percent of their jail sentence. Up until last week, male inmates were serving at least 80 percent of their jail time, but recently the sheriff's department began freeing men who were sentenced for non-violent offenses after they served only 50 percent of their time.
Perhaps a Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer will now have an easier time arguing that clients deserve a less lengthy jail sentence. City officials and members of the sheriff's department hope that releasing criminals early from jail will just be short lived policy.
"Early release is a mockery of the justice system," Supervisor Mike Antonovich, a longtime critic of early releases, told Los Angeles Times. "Criminals are sent to jail to serve time for a crime, not a merry-go-round ride back to the streets."
Related Resource:
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Cruel and Unusual Punishment (FindLaw)
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DUI - Sentencing (FindLaw)
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Los Angeles DUI Defense Lawyer Directory (FindLaw)
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