Fugitives are set free
It had been one of the largest and most successful man hunts in American history. In an operation that culminated last month, the U.S. Marshals Service joined forces with California law-enforcement agencies to track down 2,116 fugitives, using such scams as an ersatz parcel-delivery service to lure the criminals out of hiding. Most of those snared by FIST (fugitive investigative strike team) were being sought for violent crimes, and on the average each of the quarries had five felony counts on his record.
Within weeks of the arrests, almost half of those felons were back on the street, having...