Sen. Katrina Shealy isn’t happy about the latest prison foul-up.
The Lexington County senator found that state prison officials for 2 years released 10 inmates well before the end of their sentences.
The SC Department of Corrections confirmed this last week to The State newspaper.
SCDC spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said inmates were mistakenly let go due to errors in calculating sentences.
Of the 10, 4 have yet to be recaptured, Shain said.
Officials are working with the courts to re-incarcerate them.
Officials did not notify the public because they knew the inmates’ locations and were working to get them back, Shain said.
“If there were victims that would be potentially harmed because they were released, they should be notified,” said Shealy, R-Lexington, who sits on the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee.
The department notified the victims, Shain said. Most of the inmates were serving drug sentences.
Shealy, who spoke with corrections officials, said crimes included burglary and domestic violence.
The mistake came from a miscalculation, Shain said. The inmates were only supposed to be eligible after serving 85% of their sentences.
“Out of 9,000 to 10,000 inmates who are released each year, 10 were released early,” Shealy said.
“It was human error. That’s not an excuse. It’s an explanation.”
Shealy said the miscalculations were made nearly a decade ago with an antiquated system that has since been updated.
Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland, a former prosecutor, said he has “every belief and faith” that the department of corrections will rectify the mistake.
“If a mistake has been made, (SCDC Director) Bryan Stirling will correct it,” said Harpootlian, who also serves on the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee.
Harpootlian was cautious about alerting the public as that could tip off the inmates that they were being sought by authorities.