Arizona lawmakers will study earned release for inmates

PHOENIX (AP) - A bipartisan group of Arizona lawmakers will look at earned release credits for prisoners.

House Speaker Rusty Bowers on Thursday appointed Republican Rep. Walter Blackman to lead the panel. Bowers says the study committee will allow lawmakers to gather input and develop recommendations for reforming earned release credits.

Inmates can earn credit toward early release for completing training, treatment or education programs. Criminal justice reform advocates say the system is far too restrictive, and their efforts to improve it have been blocked.

Blackman says he expects the committee to lay the groundwork for genuine progress in next year’s legislative session.