The Nation : Carolina Felons to Go Free

Gov. Richard W. Riley declared an emergency in South Carolina’s overcrowded prisons and ordered a sentence rollback of 90 days for all prisoners convicted of nonviolent offenses. The order is likely to mean freedom for about 150 inmates. Under a 1983 law, prison sentences can be rolled back up to 90 days when the state’s prison population exceeds the safe and reasonable operating capacity for more than 30 days. As of Friday, there were 9,224 inmates in the state’s 26 prisons--1,248 more than the capacity. This is the fourth release of prisoners since the 1983 law was passed. About 500 inmates were released in the other three rollbacks.