In 2020, a law was enacted allowing state inmates with less than a year remaining on their sentences to apply for early release if they had not been convicted of murder, sexual assault, or were not sex offenders. The measure was intended to reduce prison overcrowding during the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Inmates convicted of other violent crimes, such as aggravated manslaughter and kidnapping, could still receive up to eight months of sentence reduction.
Three inmates released under the program have since faced new charges. Two pleaded guilty to separate homicide cases, while a third remains in custody awaiting trial on murder and conspiracy charges.
Proponents argued that a smaller prison population would keep inmates and staff safer from the virus. Critics warned that the policy could endanger public safety by releasing violent offenders early.
Jerry Crawford, 30, was arrested for the shooting death of an 18‑year‑old two days after his release on parole supervision in November 2020. He was originally serving a burglary sentence and would have remained in prison until the following month.
Ronny Paden, 31, was released in November 2020 after his sentence for aggravated assault and weapons offenses was shortened. Two months later, he shot and killed two men at a birthday party and was later convicted of first‑degree aggravated manslaughter, receiving a 12‑year sentence.
Theodore Luckey, 47, is serving a life sentence for two counts of first‑degree murder. He was released eight months early after completing most of a 15‑year sentence for burglary and illegal possession of a deadly weapon. He later attacked and killed an ex‑boyfriend with a machete, striking him more than 120 times, and strangled another man in a hotel room.
Republican lawmakers and some prosecutors criticized the law, arguing that it allowed violent offenders to escape accountability and posed a threat to community safety.
The law’s sponsor is running for re‑election in a district that had been carried by a Republican presidential candidate in
