Ohio Sheriff forced to release 72 inmates due to budget restraints

A jail in the Akron, Ohio area freed 72 inmates as part of a cost-cutting measure deemed necessary in order to safely run the facility.

Summit County Sheriff Steve Barry, who has served as sheriff since 1979, says he can't remember a time when he's had to consent to such a large release of inmates. Fifty new inmates arrived at Barry's jail over the last two days, complicating the process. In the end, Barry reduced the jail's overall capacity by 149 beds, from 671 to 522.

The Associated Press reports that cuts in state funding and a sales tax increase rejected by voters during the midterm elections were both factors in the jail's dwindling budget.

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