Gov. Bill Ritter has said that no killers, kidnappers or sex offenders would be released early.

Benny Joe Rael, 51, was convicted of a child sex-assault case back in 1982 although that's not the crime he had been serving time for. He was in prison for nonviolent theft and was released 16 days early.

Colorado Parole Board chairman David Michaud wasn't aware of Rael's earlier sex-assault conviction but he says an evaluation determined that his risk of committing another sex offense was low. The former Denver police chief says he won't let anyone out early if he doesn't think it's safe.

The first 10 released are seven men and three women.

To make room for offenders being paroled early, about 2,600 former inmates currently on parole will no longer be supervised, The Denver Post reported.

According to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records examined by The Post, the first 10 inmates released in the program had previously been arrested an average of 19.5 times.