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| Review finds Wyoming Department of Corrections lacks release policy |
| By trib.com - JOSHUA WOLFSON |
| Published: 06/28/2012 |
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Wyoming State Penitentiary officials mistakenly released an inmate in April even after he told a corrections officer he still had at least five years left to serve for aggravated assault, an internal review found. Despite the warning, management at the Rawlins prison approved Arthur Penrod’s release without interviewing him or the officer — even though it was nearly unheard of for an offender to claim he shouldn’t be released. A committee formed to investigate the matter cited the lack of oversight as the main factor that contributed to Penrod’s release. If management had spoken with Penrod or the officer, Cpl. Doug Carter, the prison would have more than likely prevented the improper release, according to a report detailing the committee’s investigation. The Wyoming Department of Corrections released the report this week at the Star-Tribune’s request. The review also revealed flaws in the department’s process for releasing inmates: The Corrections Department lacked a policy governing the release of offenders The Wyoming State Penitentiary had no operational procedure in place for an inmate’s release. Instead, the prison’s records manager authorized releases based on what she had been taught by predecessors. The department uses two separate offender databases that lack the ability to share information. Only certain staff members can access both databases. The committee recommended the creation of a release policy for the department and a discharge procedure for the Wyoming State Penitentiary. The Corrections Department had actually begun work on a release policy the month before Penrod’s release, said spokesman Tim Lockwood. “We had a series of procedures and checklists in place, but they had never been formally written down into a policy,” he said. The policy will go into effect July 11. Prison officials have also made changes to their release procedures that require the warden or deputy warden to authorize an inmate’s release. Read More. |
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