re: LA DOC wastes millions ever year keeping inmates past their release date

Their "release date" typically includes some incredibly shortened time based on offender class, "good time" calculations, time served before sentencing, among other factors. I agree they should be released on their "release date" but I don't feel bad if they aren't. They are already getting an absurd amount of time taken off and DOC isn't "losing" money for holding people over, they just aren't taking advantage of the savings they could realize. Remember, these felons are still "in custody" of DOC for the entire time of their sentence, just the supervision is swapping venues (prison to home for parole).

For example, an offender gets five years hard labor suspended, five years probation. The offender violates probation and has to back up those five years. Often he gets credit for any time served while awaiting sentence plus time on probation. He gets his diminution of sentence and is released in 15 months. He is now on parole for the remainder. It's a joke. Most of the time, these holdovers are in the process of transferring supervision since they are still in the custody of DOC. These aren't people that are serving a hard five years and are held over past their release date.