COLUMBIA (AP) -- A legislative panel reviewing South Carolina's sentencing policies says nonviolent drug offenders should go to prison less and more prisoners should get parole.
The panel's report released Tuesday also says the state returns too many parolees to jail for technical violations, such as drug or alcohol use.
The panel includes lawmakers who say in the report that they will push to enact some of the recommended law changes.
In all, the report suggests 24 ways to make South Carolina safer and limit growth in prison populations, including more oversight for violent prisoners who are released after completing their sentences. Not among the recommendations, however, was a suggestion by the state attorney general to eliminate parole.
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