California is planning to release within days as many as 3,500 inmates who were due to be paroled in the next two months.
The early release is part of the effort to free space in cramped prisons in anticipation of a coronavirus outbreak.
The move Tuesday comes a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom halted intakes from jails, a move projected to lower the prison's population by about 3,000 inmates in the next 30 days.
The 3,500 estimate includes inmates who are within 60 days of their earliest possible release date and are not currently serving a sentence for a violent or sex crime.