Well, that didn't take long.

And, it certainly didn't take an Einstein to figure out that our rush to balance budgets by granting early parole or release to thousands of convicts wasn't such a great idea. And it sure isn't saving the money proponents predicted.

-Several states embraced the theory that they could save millions of dollars

every year by paring down their prison population. They've quickly come to realize some things just can't be measured by money. Like public safety - and the threat to the public's safety. This was starkly illustrated in Illinois recently when that state's early release program was labeled "a big mistake" by none other than the governor, Patrick Quinn.

He came to that

conclusion after learning some violent convicts had been sent home from prison after spending only a few weeks in lockup. More than 50 of the early released were soon accused of new crimes and that, of course, meant more work for law enforcement and prosecutors handling the costly new cases.

So, where exactly was the savings in all that?

The program became a train wreck in Michigan, where 13,541 inmates were granted early release last year. One convict featured in a recent New York Times story is Scott Hankins, a two-time sex crimes convict accused of molesting young girls he met at church. Some were disabled, and some were reported to be as young as 7. Last year, Hankins' psychologists declared he...