By AP
Frankfort, KY – Kentucky will release nearly 1,000 inmates next month as part a Corrections Department overhaul passed by state lawmakers earlier this year. Inmates within six months of the end of their sentences will be released Jan. 3 and put under supervision by the Probation and Parole Department. The program aims to help inmates find jobs and housing after leaving prison to reduce recidivism. It also will trim the Department of Corrections budget by about $40 million next year. Justice Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown told the Courier Journal he expects an additional 3,000 to be released in the program throughout 2012.