Early-Release Plan Deserves Approval

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Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn suffered a nasty political sting early in his administration when poorly considered adjustments to the state's early-release system for prisoners resulted in violent offenders returning to the streets and committing high-profile crimes long before their sentences were due to expire. So, he may be understandably reluctant to reinstate a program beset, he said at the time, by "lots of flaws" that were "systemic" and "long-standing." He needn't be.

In the two years since Quinn placed a moratorium on the so-called Meritorious Good Time program, lawmakers and prison watchdogs produced a new approach to early-release that addresses a key statement in a report …