Russian amnesty law alarms residents near prisons

	VIDEO
CNN's Steve Harrigan looks at the controversial amnesty for Russian convicts. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

June 27, 2000
Web posted at: 8:54 p.m. EDT (0054 GMT)

ZELENOGRAD, Russia (CNN) -- The Russian lower house of parliament, the Duma, saw a problem: Overcrowding was taxing Russia's prison system to the limit.

So the legislators devised a plan to ease the pressure by releasing 120,000 prisoners during the course of the summer.

But Russians who live outside the prisons aren't very happy about the law the Duma wrote. It hands inmates -- some convicted of violent crimes -- an early release if they ever received a state or military honor.

The inmates, on the other hand, are thrilled.

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Russia Today - Government

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