By
The Associated Press
PHOENIX - State officials yesterday won an Arizona Supreme Court ruling that individuals convicted of certain sex offenses before 1990 are not entitled to earn credits for early release.
Attorney General Janet Napolitano said the ruling affects several hundred inmates who now must remain in prison to finish their terms.
The Supreme Court's ruling upholds a decision by a Pinal County Superior Court judge but overturns one by the state Court of Appeals.
The ruling came in the case of a man, Kenneth L. True, convicted of attempted child molestation. He contended he was entitled to credits that would have made him eligible for parole.
The issue decided by the Supreme Court was whether individuals convicted of certain sex crimes before 1990 were entitled to participate in the early release program based on new standards which took effect in 1994, Napolitano said.
"The court gave effect to the true intent of the Legislature," said Napolitano, who argued the case before the Supreme Court last November.
