Attacks raise questions about early prison release - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Two recently-released inmates are suspected in attacks in the past month in central Indiana, raising questions about the state's policy for early release of inmates.

Glenn Beard knows how sentencing works in Indiana.

He was convicted of illegal drug possession and dealing narcotics in the late 80s and early 90s and served 4 1/2 years of a combined seven-year sentence. In 2009, he was convicted again for unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon and was handed six more years.

"He had no conduct history in prison during his last term, so he wasn't one of those guys who we were worried about continually messing up and letting out," Garrison told Eyewitness News after reviewing Beard's file. "If they take GED classes, for example, like Beard did, or a literacy skills class, they earn more time off. In this case, he served around two years of a six-year sentence."

Beard is accused of killing 13-year old Jarrell Tucker Sunday night, shooting him in the back of the head following an earlier verbal confrontation. Police say now he can't be found.

The shooting is prompting more questions about Indiana's "good time" law, allowing inmates to knock a day off their sentence for every day of good behavior.

"So when a guy goes to prison or a girl goes to prison, (they know) they can better themselves if they can behave, that they'll be rewarded for it, that they'll get out earlier. It tends to make our prisons safer. It makes them more calm," explained Garrison.

Of the inmates released in Indiana, 62 percent leave and don't return. The other 38 percent do commit another crime within three years and go back to prison.

Days ago, Eyewitness News found a similar story with rape suspect Shawn Corbally. He served 12 years of a 25-year sentence for a previous rape conviction. He is now in custody facing new charges for raping a Greenwood mother inside her apartment.

Ivy Tech Dean and Former Police Chief Dr. Richard Weinblatt told Eyewitness News it's frustrating, but a reality of the system.

"You can't just hold onto them forever. We don't have the resources in this country to do it and we don't have the constitutional stomach for that kind of stuff," he said.