More than 3,000 Wash. prisoners let out early in error

SEATTLE — More than 3,000 prisoners have been released early from Washington state prisons since 2002 because of a computer error that incorrectly calculated credit for good conduct, the governor said.

That's about 3% of all prisoners, Gov. Jay Inslee said Tuesday.

"That this problem was allowed to continue for 13 years is deeply disappointing to me, totally unacceptable and, frankly, maddening," Inslee said. "So, when I learned of this, I immediately ordered the department to fix it, fix it fast and fix it right."

He learned of the problem last week, he said.

The state was made aware of the error in 2012 when the family of a crime victim learned the offender responsible was being released too early, Department of Corrections officials said. A new chief information officer found out about the repeated delays this month and alerted department leaders.

Some of those who were released early will be required to return to finish their sentences either in prison or on work release, but some will be given credit for time in the community.

Inslee has directed the state to work with local law enforcement to identify those people who need to be returned, and seven already have been identified. Five already have returned to prison.

Neither names nor cases were released as of Tuesday evening.

The problem originated in July 2002 when the Washington Supreme Court ruled that the Department of Corrections had to apply good conduct credit earned in county jails to state prison sentences, the state said. When the department changed computer coding to recalculate the sentences, it over-credited offenders with sentencing enhancements. Enhancements can range from weapons used to the location of the crime.

The department now has been ordered not to released offenders until their sentences are hand-calculated. The state estimates the median number of days offenders were released early is 49 days.

The longest case was 600 days, according to the governor's office. It's not known whether any of the offenders committed new crimes after being released early.

A software fix is expected in place by Jan. 7.

Inslee said he has hired retired federal prosecutors Robert Westinghouse and Carl Blackstone to conduct an independent review to determine how the error was left uncorrected for years.

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