ATLANTA (AP) As Georgia looks to slash its soaring prison medical costs, officials are embracing a program that makes ailing and often elderly inmates eligible for early release ... The use of medical reprieves has been on the rise in Georgia, according to state Department of Corrections data obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request ... There were just 22 granted in fiscal year 2007. That more than tripled in fiscal year 2009 when 69 sick inmates were granted reprieves.