PRISON ERRORS CAUSE MISTAKEN RELEASES
Some inmates are confined too long, others freed too soon
“Late releases from prison deprive inmates of their liberty; early releases can put communities at risk.” Justice Department report
At least 152 federal prison inmates were held beyond their terms during a six-year period, including one inmate who served nearly three years longer than the original sentence because of computing or other errors, an internal Justice Department report found.
During the same period ending in 2014, five inmates were mistakenly released early. Three of those prisoners were freed at least a year before completing their sentences, according to the review by Justice’s inspector general.
Some of the errors were due to simple computing, while others stemmed from miscalculations of sentence credits and mistakes in applying either concurrent and consecutive sentencing time.
The “untimely” releases attributed to staffing errors represent a fraction of the 461,966 inmates freed during the review period. Federal investigators said the consequences of such actions can be “extraordinarily serious” and costly.
“Late releases from prison deprive inmates of their liberty; early releases can put communities at risk if the inmates are dangerous,” the report said.
In the case of the unidentified inmate held for nearly three additional years, investigators said prison officials failed to apply ap- propriate credit for time served in state prison.
Three days after the inmate alerted prison officials to the error, the prisoner was released. Federal investigators said officials could not explain why the proper sentencing information had not been obtained before the initial release date, an error that resulted in the inmate serving an additional 928 days.
The government provided no compensation to the inmate for the error, and the prisoner sought no relief, according to the inspector general’s report.
“The result was a serious deprivation of the inmate’s liberty and a violation of the court’s sentencing order,” the report found.
A second inmate was mistakenly held for 541 days and a third for 406 days. Neither was offered compensation, but the third inmate won a $175,000 settlement.
A joint response by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General agreed with the inspector general’s recommendations that included a review of the release actions and their causes. The response noted that the releases attributed to staff error represented a minute portion of overall releases.