https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2022/01/lawsuit-claims-gov-kate-brown-unlawfully-commuted-sentences-of-nearly-1000-inmates.html Brown commuted the sentences of 912 inmates who were deemed at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19, according to a June 2021 letter she wrote to state lawmakers. The freed inmates were medically vulnerable, had completed at least half their sentences and were not serving time for crimes against people. Brown also commuted the sentences of 41 inmates who fought the historic Labor Day 2020 wildfires, according to the June letter, which is cited in the lawsuit. Those released didn’t “present an unacceptable safety, security, or compliance risk to the community,” the letter said. Forty-four inmates and three jailers have died of COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, state records show. The lawsuit claims Brown broke rules requiring individual commutation applications and unlawfully delegated her responsibilities to state agencies.