Pubdate: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 Source: Decatur Daily (AL) Copyright: 2003 The Decatur Daily Contact: http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/696 BEST TO WAIT AND SEE ABOUT THE NEWLY PAROLED District Attorneys And Law Officers Across The State Have Started Worrying. They're worried that paroling inmates, possibly as many as 5,000 in the coming months, will increase their workloads when they have to arrest, prosecute and incarcerate them once again. Since Dec. 1, a second three-member panel of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles has been meeting. This addition doubles the number of parole cases the state can hear and may double the number of new parolees hitting the streets. December's docket has 1,263 names, including some of the state's most violent criminals, eligible for parole hearings, regardless of the additional board. The rest - convicted of everything from drug charges, theft, felony DUI, credit card fraud, forgery and arson - are part of the board's special docket of nonviolent offenders. Limestone County District Attorney Kristi Valls is one who worries about these inmates being freed. "I don't see how this alleviates the problems when six months down the road, I'll be prosecuting the same person," she said. The problem Valls is referring to is the overcrowding of Alabama's prison system. Currently, our prisons are holding more than 28,000 inmates in facilities built for 12,000. That, and the financial crunch brought on by Alabama's budgetary problems, is forcing prison officials to seek alternatives, including paroles and early release. It costs a lot to keep these people jailed. It's far less expensive for the state to hire extra parole officers and pay their benefits than to keep all of these people in jail. Whatever the outcome, it's a chance we should take. If they can't lead the type of life society expects of them, then slap them back in jail. At this point we can only wait and see and hope the dire predictions by officers of the court never come to pass. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart