COALINGA (AP) ? A Lake County convict in prison for a violent robbery is the first in the state granted parole under a new law allowing release of medically incapacitated inmates.
A state Board of Parole Hearings panel ruled Wednesday that former Lake County resident, Craig Lemke, 48, who has served less than four years of a 68-year sentence, poses no threat to public safety because he”s a quadriplegic.
The hearing was held at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga. Lemke was the second inmate to be considered for medical parole under a law that went into effect this year and is aimed at saving the state millions of dollars.
The state will save up to an estimated $750,000 per year in guarding costs and an undetermined amount for Lemke”s medical care.
