A man sentenced to 2 1/2 years in
an Ohio prison was released 19 months late because of a clerical error.
Gerome Burns, 23, of Akron, was
convicted of sexual battery, drug abuse and receiving stolen property.
He entered the Warren Correctional Institution in September 1996 and should
have been released in April 1999.
Instead, prison officials released
Burns two weeks ago.
``It was an error,'' said Joe Andrews,
spokesman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. ``We
release 20,000 inmates a year. The calculation was done incorrectly.''
Andrews said such miscalculations
occur ``from time to time, but I don't recall one ever being this long.''
Burns said prison officials admitted
their mistake and apologized.
``I was in so much shock, I didn't
say nothing,'' Burns said. ``All I wanted to do was leave and get back
to my family.''
Burns said he didn't know when his
should have been released because he followed what prison officials told
him. He plans to file a lawsuit.
Burns was arrested in 1996 on suspicion
of rape four months after he escaped from the Community Based Correctional
Facility in Akron, where he was serving time for drug abuse and receiving
stolen property. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of sexual battery.
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