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| Series of Errors Released Penn. Jail Inmate |
| By Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |
| Published: 06/17/2002 |
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A series of glitches was responsible for the improper release of an Allegheny County Jail inmate who later shot two Pittsburgh police officers during a confrontation in Homewood. That was the conclusion of a report released recently by a task force that investigated the release of Cecil Brookins from the county lock-up June 19, 2000. In the end, task force Chairman Thomas W. Corbett Jr. said, Brookins 'got very lucky on June 19.' Brookins was released even though he had been sentenced by Common Pleas Judge Lawrence O'Toole two weeks earlier for a firearms violation and possession of body armor. That should have put Brookins in state prison for as long as four years and 10 months. After being released, Brookins wasn't apprehended again until February, after he shot two Pittsburgh police officers and was shot and wounded himself during the Homewood confrontation. Both officers survived. Corbett said it was a combination of things, from the antiquated paper system used by the courts and the jail to track prisoners to a lack of computerization that contributed to the release. Part of the problem, Corbett said, is that the county's criminal justice system still employs 'a paperwork system in a computer age.' That can be seen in some of the events leading up to the release. O'Toole sentenced Brookins on June 5, but the court order for some reason did not arrive at the jail until after the inmate was gone. The sentence was entered into the court's computer June 15, but at the time the jail did not have access to that system. Brookins was released after he was sentenced to 9 to 18 months, paroled and placed on probation by Judge Kathleen Durkin in another case involving marijuana possession and a firearms violation. Unaware that Brookins had been sentenced by O'Toole, the jail released Brookins based on what it received from Durkin. One of the task force's recommendations was to require the court, the sheriff's office and the jail to time stamp all court orders when they deliver or receive them. The task force called for upgrades in the jail computer system to provide the accurate status of each inmate. It said all outstanding charges should be listed for each inmate, not just those for which he is in jail at that particular time. It also said the jail's computer system should be available to other criminal justice agencies in the county. The task force also recommended that judges begin e-mailing sentences and court orders involving inmates directly to the jail and the sheriff's office, eliminating the need for the much lengthier transport of paperwork. The task force also called for the creation of a countywide criminal justice policy board to establish better communication between the county and various court-related agencies and to integrate computer systems. |
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