Senate OKs releasing Vermont prisoners early

The number of people Vermont locks up in prisons had been mostly in decline for about two years — until July 2008, when a 12-year-old girl died, allegedly at the hands of a convicted sex offender. Since the death of Brooke Bennett, the number of inmates — and the cost to house them — has risen steadily. The theory: In response to public outrage that the man charged with Brooke’s death had been freed from prison, judges have been sending offenders to prison more readily and for longer sentences. The solution: Legislation that passed the Senate on Wednesday seeks to counteract that boom in the prison population by keeping about 200 nonviolent offenders out of prison and letting others off probation six months early.

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