Local Perspective on the Thousands of Federal Inmates Being Released

Officials say the move is to ease overcrowding saving billions of dollars.

But not just any prisoner can be released.

"What this does is it looks at people that have been convicted of a federal drug offense and if it was within certain guidelines they can petition the court to have their sentence reduced by up to two years," said Debbie Loudermilk who is the director of outpatient services at CADAS of Chattanooga, a drug treatment facility. "A lot of those will come out of a prison but a lot of those will come out of a halfway house."

The Department of Justice told News 12 more than 80 percent of these inmates are in halfway houses.

Officials said several inmates will be released in Chattanooga but their supervision will continue.

"They will go from BOP Custody – Bureau of Prison custody – to federal supervision under the probation department here in Chattanooga," Loudermilk said.

Officials say 150 of those released prisoners were incarcerated in Tennessee.

The Hamilton County Sheriff understands the problem of prison overcrowding but is hesitant to say it’s a good idea just yet.

"I’m willing to wait and see," said Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond. "I just know that our need for jail cells is very expensive. Tax dollars are involved. I certainly believe that we should allow people to be rehabilitated. As long as the screening process is being done properly, I’m willing to see how it works."

The Department of Justice also said over 30 percent of those being released early are non-citizens and will be handed over to ICE for deportation.