Thanos becomes political issue

Kicking off his campaign for attorney general, Republican challenger Ed Blanton blamed incumbent J. Joseph Curran Jr. yesterday for the early release from prison of John F. Thanos, who is charged with crimes that left three people dead.

In a statement, Mr. Blanton said that the attorney general was responsible for the early release program that allowed Thanos, a convicted rapist and robber, to get out of prison in April, about 18 months sooner than he would have been freed before the program began.

Mr. Curran denied any responsibility for the release and called Mr. Blanton's charges "the height of irresponsibility." The attorney general's office doesn't tell the Division of Correction who should be released from prison, he said. "We're their legal counsel. We don't run the prison system."