Rethink emergency releases

Marietta Times: Ohio state prisons housed 50,641 inmates at the end of 2014 — 31 percent more than they were designed to accommodate.

That has prompted Greg Mohr, director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, to ask legislators to permit early, emergency release of more inmates than permissible under current rules.

Existing authority for such emergency releases of inmates has not been used since it was enacted in 1997, according to a spokeswoman for the department. It would be utilized only if such overcrowding continues, she added.

USE CAUTION

Lawmakers should be cautious in granting Mohr’s request. Prison inmates should be released early only in true emergency situations — and only if doing so does not threaten the public’s safety.

Safeguards in that regard should be written into the law. Clearly, Mohr faces a dilemma, but dealing with it should not give criminals, especially violent ones, what amounts to “get out of jail free” cards.