Created: 10/23/2009 11:02:07 AM 
Triad, NC -- The governor can delay the release of 20 convicted murders, rapists, and other criminals, but she can't stop it.
That's what Wake Forest University law professor Carol Turowski says, pointing out the courts have not ordered the release of those inmates. The Department of Corrections simply calculated their release dates.
Now the governor wants to re-examine each case to make sure those sentences were calculated correctly. At least until then, Bev Perdue is not allowing the inmates' release.
Public defender Staples Hughes calls the governor's move "extreme" and "radical." He says she's defying state courts. When somebody serves a sentence, he's entitled to release, said Hughes.
Lawyers in Hughes' office defended in the Bowden case that triggered the reason for the release.
The governor is also challenging the Department of Corrections' authority in calculating time off for good behavior. But Turowski calls that challenge a stretch. She notes that's the department's job with any inmate.
WFMY News 2
