Schwarzenegger: I won’t release any prisoners early…or maybe I Will

The A.P. Reports:

In a radio address in July, [Schwarzenegger] pledged that he would not release any prisoners early, despite severe overcrowding and the threat that federal judges would put limit the inmate population…

But now,

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is considering the early release of more than 20,000 low-risk prison inmates from the nation’s largest prison system as a way to save money amid a worsening budget crisis, a newspaper reported Thursday.

Only nonviolent offenders would be eligible, and prisoners considered for the program would have less than 20 months left on their terms, The Sacramento Bee reported on its Web site. Sex offenders would not be included.

The governor’s office told The Associated Press that Schwarzenegger had not decided to release inmates early and that it was one of many scenarios being considered as the state seeks to cope with a budget deficit estimated at $10 billion to $14 billion over the next two fiscal years.

Uh…Governor? There’s a REASON those folks were IN prison! I hope California isn’t about to find out the hard way just exactly what that reason was.

Hat-Tip, Michelle Malkin. See also, FoxNews.