Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill for this law last fall in an effort to ease the state’s crushing budget deficit.  As a result, around 6,500 state inmates are due to be freed this year, to save California $500 million.

At least 18 of California’s 58 counties have applied the law retroactively by giving their county jail inmates additional credits for time already served before it took effect.  This has lead to a huge increase of releases to the tune of some 150 prisoners, over the last two weeks.

Thankfully, no state prisoners have been released so far because the bill’s language regarding this category of inmate is more specific: State prisoners would receive credit only for completing rehabilitation programs they started after the law took effect.

Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers are demanding that many parts of this law should be clarified, modified and even repealed.  The Sacramento County Deputies’ Union has supported them by filing a lawsuit to block the law entirely.

Two Democratic Assembly members, Ted Lieu of Torrance and Alyson Huber of Lodi, have introduced a bill requiring local law enforcement agencies to be notified before any state inmates are freed without parole supervision. We’re not sure of the value of the bill.

Some state corrections and law enforcement officials maintain that this law could improve public safety by easing overcrowding in state prisons.  It encourages prisoners to finish rehabilitation programs and reduces caseloads for parole officers so they can concentrate on violent offenders. But the majority of California lawmakers and citizens vigorously disagree.

The law is also not very clear on when the early release credits should be applied. The state attorney general, state corrections officials and associations representing sheriffs and prosecutors cannot provide an answer, leaving each sheriff to make that decision on his own after some consultation with local prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and lawyers. As with many budget cuts, it’s a great idea, but the implementation is not well throughout.

Besides the fact that he’s been operating as a bondsman without a license, this “bogus bail bondsman” is allegedly a criminal himself; having previously been charged with numerous felonies which include, altering or falsifying government documents.  (A bail bondsman in California must be licensed by the California Department of Insurance. Additionally, convicted felons are not eligible to be bail bondsmen.)

Malone perpetrated this right in the jail, directly under the watch of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. With regards to allowing Malone to advertise along side other bail bondsmen inside the jail, Sacramento Sheriff’s Captain Scott Jones stated, “Well, I think we were unwitting participants in it… I think if we’re getting paid and we’re providing a paid service, then we assume some of the duty for that.”  He also allegedly stated that the department doesn’t make a dime off of the ads. Captain Jones was in command during the time Malone’s ads were posted.

We have warned the public about the bail scams in the past. Fortunately, this guy is finally out of business. But according to court documents, several unfortunate prior clients turned victims, have lost out on thousands of dollars.

Apparently, the plan was to shoot out fifth or sixth floor windows. However, the jail is built to withstand this type of attacked and windows remained in tact. While the Sheriff’s Department located an abondoned stolen vehicle possibly used in the attact, they are still trying to identify suspects from the shooting as well as inmates who may have been targeted for attempted jail break.

A Sheriff’s Department spokesman called the idea that such a plan would be successful “unthinkable.”

According to the Oroville Mercury-Register, a witness to the accident followed the car involved in the accident to obtain the license plate number. A 22-year-old woman was questioned by the California Highway Patrol in connection with the crash late on Thursday night. After brief questioning she was arrested and taken to the Sacramento County Jail. She is out on $30,000 bail pending arraignment.