Releasing 6,000 Prisoners to Make US Safer - Advocacy Group

Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform Executive Director Suzi Wizowaty claims that the United States will be a safer country thanks to the release of 6,000 convicted prisoners.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States will be a safer country thanks to the release of 6,000 convicted prisoners, advocacy group Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform Executive Director Suzi Wizowaty told Sputnik.

“In the long run, releasing 6,000 people will increase public safety,” Wizowaty said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, media reported the Department of Justice would release 6,000 prison inmates between October 30 and November 2.

The United States has the largest prison population in the world with 2.2 million behind bars, half of them on non-violent drug-related offences, according to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics.

“Too many people are locked up who don't need to be,” Wizowaty said.

However, critics have warned that the mass relief could be followed by a rapid rise in crimes.

They point to a US Bureau of Justice Statistics report released in April 2014 that showed 56.7percent of ex-convicts released during the period from 2005 to 2010 were arrested, convicted and back in jail within a year of their release.

The proportion rose to 67.8 percent within three years, and 76.6 percent within five years.

The report was based on a study of the criminal records and recidivism rates of 404,638 ex-inmates in 30 US states.