LITTLE ROCK—A spokeswoman for the state prison system says the Arkansas Board of Corrections has approved early parole hearings for 648 inmates in an effort to ease prison crowding.

Prison spokeswoman Dina Tyler said Monday the board also hopes to reduce crowding in the prisons by getting money from the Legislature next year to open a new prison in Malvern. The facility was scheduled to open partially this year, but those plans were aborted when $6.6 million was slashed from the prison system’s budget.