Washington D.C. Seeks to Free from Prison Young Convicted Killers, Rapists

Washington, D.C.’s council is reviewing a plan to free early from prison hundreds of violent convicted criminals, including murderers and rapists, so long as they committed the crimes when they were young.

A proposal by D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D) would allow inmates under the age of 25 incarcerated in Washington, D.C. — including those convicted of murder, rape, sexual assault, and other violent crimes — to apply for early release after serving 15 years.

Aside from attempting to be released early, these violent convicted criminals would also be allowed to reduce their sentences if approved by a judge. Currently, the change in the law would allow nearly 600 Washington, D.C. convicts to apply for early release.

Judges would be advised to more heavily review the conduct of the convicts’ time in prison rather than the severity of the crime for which the individual was originally convicted.

As noted by the Washington Post, the early release plan would mean that “if the gunmen who massacred innocent people in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, this month had instead committed their crimes in [Washington, D.C.] — and had both survived — one would be eligible for release or reduced sentence at age 36, at a judge’s discretion; the other at age 39.”

Already, Washington, D.C. has taken the criminal justice reform effort to new heights with a law passed two years ago which allows inmates convicted at age 16 and 17 to reduce their sentences or seek early release after serving only 15 years if they are not yet eligible for parole.

Last year, the criminal justice reform movement and libertarians successfully lobbied a split GOP-Democrat Congress, as well as the White House, to approve the “First Step Act,” which reduces the sentences of federal convicts and allows them to request early release.

Records obtained by Fox News’s Tucker Carlson revealed that roughly 2,200 inmates — including 59 convicted killers and assailants, 239 convicted sex offenders, 106 convicted robbers, 960 inmates convicted on drug charges, and 496 inmates convicted on weapons and explosives charges — have already been released early from prison thanks to the new law.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last month that, in total, about 3,100 convicts will be released this year from federal prison and nearly 1,700 drug sentences have already been reduced because of the First Step Act. The release of convicts through the First Step Act is costing American taxpayers about $75 million a year through 2023.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.