Prosecutor Arthur Cotter issued an open letter on Wednesday. In it he outlined his beliefs of why the Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative is not working as originally intended and how it is being used to cut costs in the state.

Cotter used an example of Donnell Williams, 35, who shot and paralyzed four-year-old Zaniya Anderson as she played in her grandmother's front yard back in April.

Williams was shooting at a car leaving his home when a stray bullet struck Anderson. He was on parole at the time for stabbing someone.

"[The parole board] has the discretion and they ought to exercise it. They should have exercised it in this case to keep him towards the end of his term given his record and what he had done, but they let him out just after the minimum and it's wrong," said Cotter.

The Michigan Department of Correction disputes his assertion that the system isn't working. Instead it said MPRI is a model for the nation.

"We have become a national model here in Michigan for prisoner re-entry services and how to do it right and how to do it safely and be able to keep the size of our prison system and the cost of our prison system in check, while still being able to protect public safety," said John Cordell with MDOC.

Cordell defended giving Williams parole and said he was just one case out of the thousands of success stories over the years.

Cordell added 95 percent of prisoners get released and MDOC would rather they get released with assistance, rather than setting them free after serving their time.

Cotter disagreed MPRI is working. He said someone with an arrest record like Williams should not get released early.

"if I thought this was one error I wouldn't be here," said Cotter.

Williams' arrest record goes back to August of 1990 when he was arrested for a larceny. He has been arrested ten times between August of 1990 and June of 2006 when he was arrested for stabbing someone in the abdomen.

He was served five years in prison beginning in 1991 when he injured three people by firing a shotgun.

Cotter said the parole board giving Williams parole after the stabbing is a dangerous sign of things to come.

"This is case is nothing but a canary in a coal mine signaling the approaching danger. I don't think this is the end of this, these kind of cases with parolees is just the beginning," said Cotter.

He suggested MDOC and the State of Michigan are releasing prisoners early to cut costs. MDOC estimates it costs about $32,000 annually to keep a prisoner.

Cordell countered it is trying to help prisoners who would get released anyway. He said the state is spending $56 million to maintain MPRI.

Williams was found guilty earlier this month on two counts of assault with intent to murder among six other charges. He faces life in prison when he is sentenced on August 20.