California Gives Tens Of Thousands Of Violent Inmates Early Release Eligibility The state of California announced Saturday that it is providing 76,000 inmates with early release eligibility. More than 63,000 inmates are serving time for violent crimes, as reported by the Associated Press. More than 63,000 inmates who are violent and repeat felons will have the opportunity to lessen their time served by one-third via a “good behavior credits” system. The initiative went into effect Saturday, but the AP notes that inmates will not walk free for months or years. Of the eligible early release inmates, 20,000 are serving life sentences with the possibility of parole. Half of this number constitutes inmates previously convicted of “a second serious but nonviolent offense.”