Minnesota's Inmate Release Program Failure Rate: 40%

About 40 percent of Minnesota convicts who are let go from prison on supervised release either run from authorities or commit new crimes, a Star Tribune analysis of state corrections data shows.

For some it was fairly predictable that they would have problems. Those who become fugitives or get arrested tend to be veterans of the state prison system who have committed the most serious crimes, such as assaults, aggravated robbery, sex crimes, DWI and drug offenses.

But in Minnesota, that doesn't matter. The length of a prisoner's supervised release, a time when criminals are supposed to adjust to life outside prison under the watchful eyes of corrections officials, is set using the same formula for every offender. Regardless of their likelihood to succeed, most offenders spend two-thirds of their sentence behind bars and one-third in the community.

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