Prosecutors say list of eligible parolees will help them keep some behind bars

DETROIT (AP) -- Prosecutors say a list of eligible parolees they obtained through a lawsuit will allow them to better argue at parole board hearings that some inmates should remain behind bars. The list, a copy of which was obtained by The Detroit News, includes 928 Michigan felons -- including convicted murders, sex offenders and drug dealers -- who will become eligible for parole in March and April. Prosecutors sued the state for the list as part of their ongoing fight with Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration over its accelerated efforts to reduce the state's prison population. Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper spearheaded the effort to sue for the parolee information because she said her office was repeatedly denied information about planned interviews of parole candidates in sufficient time to appeal certain cases. "The Michigan Department of Corrections says 'trust us' in releasing criminals on parole to save money," Cooper told the newspaper. "If (state officials) are so trustworthy, why did we have to sue them to obtain the list of individuals they are seeking to release?" The state argued that names of eligible parolees were only available a month in advance. But it was later determined the Parole Board's database included information on interviews scheduled months ahead of time. Cooper is fighting the November 2009 release of convicted killer Craig LeRoy Atkins, who crushed the skull of an alleged Pontiac hit man in September 1987. Cooper wants Atkins back in prison. Atkins argues he has paid his debt to society. Fights over the releases of inmates are continuing in other counties. Michigan officials say they are not releasing prisoners early, but rather letting them out closer to the minimum end of their sentences. "These are people who have served out their minimum and with some exceptions, have every right to a parole," state Corrections Department spokesman John Cordell told the paper. "Sure, we have accelerated paroles, but that's because we were keeping people in prison too long." Michigan's prison population has dropped from nearly 51,500 inmates in 2006 to about 45,200 this year. The population has been reduced through paroles and commutations, a drop in felony convictions and prison intakes, and an expanded program to keep parolees from committing new crimes. Granholm wants to more aggressively reduce the prison population in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. She has proposed releasing roughly 7,500 inmates by allowing some prisoners to shave time off their sentences for good behavior and letting more offenders be released with electronic monitoring outside of prison. Prosecutors are fighting that proposal, which would gut Michigan's truth in sentencing laws and allow some prisoners to be freed before they serve their minimum sentences. Published: Tue, Mar 2, 2010

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