As evidence that the state simply has lost the ability to govern effectively, the early release program for prison inmates already is off track.

The program touted by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, a Democrat, as a measure that would save the state as much as $1 billion, was sold to a skeptical public with the promise that only nonviolent offenders would be put back on the streets.

A review of inmate records by the Associated Press shows some of the criminals freed from county jails were convicted of a variety of violent offenses, including assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, and child and elderly abuse.

The program specifically bars the release of prisoners convicted of a number of specified crimes, including murder and rape. But any offense not specifically listed gives counties leeway in deciding who gets out of jail.

More than 1,800 prisoners were let out of jail before they served their full sentences in the first few weeks of the early release program, according to the California State Sheriffs' Association. Hundreds more have been freed since then - but the tracking has stopped.

The news organization looked at release records from three counties: Alameda, Orange and San Bernardino. In San Bernardino County, for instance, the AP found 29 percent of the 642 inmates released had been convicted of crimes involving violence.

The problems appear to be twofold. One, the law, according to some legislators, was not intended to apply to county jails. Second, the list of crimes for which prisoners cannot be released needs to be expanded to include all convictions involving violence. The Legislature must move quickly to fix this "reform" law - before something goes terribly wrong and they're forced to share the blame.