strongernow
05-01-2004, 05:13 AM
Paroles stalled as official ignored files
Inmates languished needlessly in prison, costing the state taxpayers as much as $526,000
By CARLOS CAMPOS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/01/04
Fifty-nine Georgia inmates sat in prison waiting for parole while the files that could have helped grant their freedom gathered dust in a bureaucrat's office — in one case for more than five years.
Shortly after the files were discovered in February, the cases were expedited and 18 of the inmates were paroled. Another seven inmates served their entire sentence while waiting to hear whether they would be released early.
Inaction on the files may have cost Georgia taxpayers as much as $526,000 to keep the inmates in prison, according to parole documents obtained this week by The Atlanta Journal-Constitu-
tion.
The state Board of Pardons and Paroles demoted clemency director Michael Sullivan and cut his $103,000 salary by $23,000 after finding the files on a cart in his office.
Sullivan did not return a phone call to his office seeking comment. Heather Hedrick, the agency spokeswoman, said Sullivan told her twice he did not want to speak with a reporter.
Parole board Chairman Milton E. "Buddy" Nix Jr. said the lapse was unacceptable.
"I cannot even describe to you how distressed and just downright mad I was because I know these cases represent human beings," Nix said in an interview this week. "Every decision we make impacts on the liberty of another individual . . . and there is no room for error, no room for an inmate to be lost in the system and for the intent of the board not be carried out."
Attorney General Thurbert Baker's office is reviewing the matter to see if any laws were broken, spokesman Russ Willard said.
The cases of all 59 inmates have now been reviewed, parole board officials say. Seven of the inmates have been denied parole. Twenty-seven are still being considered.
Among the 59 cases:
• Jesse Edge, serving a 25-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter, was sent to a work release program in January 1998, where he stayed until August 2003. Edge then was sent to a southeast Georgia prison. Most inmates spend six to nine months in work-release before they are paroled. After his file was discovered, the board voted to parole Edge.
• Dennis Washington served his entire three-year sentence on forgery and fraud convictions even though the parole board had recommended him for parole after he had served one year. A subsequent question about his release should have been taken back to the board for reconsideration but was not. Washington was released in 2003.
• Timothy Alan Rustin, serving a 10-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter, was scheduled for early release in December 2002. A question that arose about Rustin's release never was resolved. After his file was found, the board voted to parole him.
"I was always asking my counselors . . . about my parole . . . but they kept saying I was under investigation," Rustin said Friday in a telephone interview from prison. "So I just figured they were making everybody do all their time and I figured they were making me do mine."
Rustin said friends and relatives contacted parole employees to ask about his case. "They would tell them it was top secret. They wouldn't tell you what was going on."
State law requires that the parole board consider most inmates for early release from the state's crowded prisons at specific intervals. The five-member board bases its decisions on an inmate's behavior in prison, the severity of the crime and other factors. The board considers up to 20,000 cases annually.
Nix discovered the problem Feb. 3 while reviewing an inmate's file. The prisoner's tentative parole month — a date the board sets for the inmate's potential release — already had passed.
Nix asked Beth Oxford, director of parole, to find out why there had been a delay. Oxford checked with Sullivan and removed about 100 files from his office.
Oxford concluded that 59 of the cases were "late, pending follow-up action or otherwise questionable," according to a summary provided by board officials. Parole officials determined that the tentative parole dates for 26 inmates had passed while the files sat in Sullivan's office. The other 33 files required board action before they could move forward. Almost all of the files had been flagged for a variety of reasons. In some cases, judges, prosecutors or victims' families had opposed early release.
Heartbreak predicted
Still, the concerns should have been addressed and the files placed before the parole board for consideration, said board member Mike Light.
An advocate who works with inmates' families said the revelation of the neglected files will anger people with loved ones in prison.
"Hearing this news is going to leave family members heartbroken — that the people who hold the keys to the future and freedom of family members have failed to do their most basic duty," said Sara Totonchi of Fairness to Prisoners' Families in Atlanta.
In a Feb. 9 memo to Sullivan, Oxford wrote that his inaction "constitutes gross insubordination, willful misconduct and inexcusable negligence. Moreover, you have exposed the Parole Board to potential liability from lawsuits by these offenders and thwarted the will of the Board in many of these cases."
On Feb. 16, the parole board voted to demote Sullivan. Three days later, Sullivan was reassigned to head an office of 15 parole investigators. He no longer has authority over when or whether inmates should be released.
In parole files, Sullivan gives a variety of reasons for inaction on the files. In a narrative Oxford wrote, Sullivan complained of not having enough time to process the files. Sullivan also told Oxford that he was focused on making sure his 70-member staff was processing files rather than clearing the ones in his own office. Sullivan "profusely apologized for the problems," Oxford wrote.
Sullivan, a 27-year parole employee and director of clemency since 1999, had never been formally disciplined before the board's action. The most recent review in his personnel file, in 2003, notes that "Mike's management of the Clemency Division is always competent and professional."
Discipline disputed
Parole board members disagreed on how to discipline Sullivan. Records show members Garfield Hammonds and Eugene Walker wanted to dock Sullivan's pay for two weeks, issue a letter of reprimand and implement reforms to prevent a recurrence. Nix's motion to demote Sullivan passed with the support of members Light and Garland Hunt.
Willard, of the attorney general's office, said the parole board sought its advice on how to deal with Sullivan. He would not say what that advice was, nor would parole officials.
"They chose not to follow it," Willard said Friday. "After they took the limited personnel action . . . we advised them that we were going to review the matter internally for any possible criminal violations."
Parole board officials defended their decision.
"We weighed the range of options against his otherwise outstanding 27-year career with parole," said Hedrick. "A demotion and a significant salary reduction was deemed appropriate."
Nix said the board acted appropriately once it discovered the files. The agency has initiated measures to prevent similar problems in the future, including plans to track parole files electronically rather than relying on the current paper system, Nix said.
The problems come to light as the parole agency emerges from a corruption scandal.
Board member Bobby Whitworth was convicted last year of accepting money from probation companies in exchange for influencing legislation that would have benefited those companies. Then-board Chairman Walter Ray also accepted money for consulting services but was not charged. Nix replaced Ray as chairman in 2002.
"The entire board has worked so hard to build up trust that was lost by what took place in the past," Nix said. "I want to do everything I can to help this agency move forward so the public can continue to have that trust."
Inmates languished needlessly in prison, costing the state taxpayers as much as $526,000
By CARLOS CAMPOS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/01/04
Fifty-nine Georgia inmates sat in prison waiting for parole while the files that could have helped grant their freedom gathered dust in a bureaucrat's office — in one case for more than five years.
Shortly after the files were discovered in February, the cases were expedited and 18 of the inmates were paroled. Another seven inmates served their entire sentence while waiting to hear whether they would be released early.
Inaction on the files may have cost Georgia taxpayers as much as $526,000 to keep the inmates in prison, according to parole documents obtained this week by The Atlanta Journal-Constitu-
tion.
The state Board of Pardons and Paroles demoted clemency director Michael Sullivan and cut his $103,000 salary by $23,000 after finding the files on a cart in his office.
Sullivan did not return a phone call to his office seeking comment. Heather Hedrick, the agency spokeswoman, said Sullivan told her twice he did not want to speak with a reporter.
Parole board Chairman Milton E. "Buddy" Nix Jr. said the lapse was unacceptable.
"I cannot even describe to you how distressed and just downright mad I was because I know these cases represent human beings," Nix said in an interview this week. "Every decision we make impacts on the liberty of another individual . . . and there is no room for error, no room for an inmate to be lost in the system and for the intent of the board not be carried out."
Attorney General Thurbert Baker's office is reviewing the matter to see if any laws were broken, spokesman Russ Willard said.
The cases of all 59 inmates have now been reviewed, parole board officials say. Seven of the inmates have been denied parole. Twenty-seven are still being considered.
Among the 59 cases:
• Jesse Edge, serving a 25-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter, was sent to a work release program in January 1998, where he stayed until August 2003. Edge then was sent to a southeast Georgia prison. Most inmates spend six to nine months in work-release before they are paroled. After his file was discovered, the board voted to parole Edge.
• Dennis Washington served his entire three-year sentence on forgery and fraud convictions even though the parole board had recommended him for parole after he had served one year. A subsequent question about his release should have been taken back to the board for reconsideration but was not. Washington was released in 2003.
• Timothy Alan Rustin, serving a 10-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter, was scheduled for early release in December 2002. A question that arose about Rustin's release never was resolved. After his file was found, the board voted to parole him.
"I was always asking my counselors . . . about my parole . . . but they kept saying I was under investigation," Rustin said Friday in a telephone interview from prison. "So I just figured they were making everybody do all their time and I figured they were making me do mine."
Rustin said friends and relatives contacted parole employees to ask about his case. "They would tell them it was top secret. They wouldn't tell you what was going on."
State law requires that the parole board consider most inmates for early release from the state's crowded prisons at specific intervals. The five-member board bases its decisions on an inmate's behavior in prison, the severity of the crime and other factors. The board considers up to 20,000 cases annually.
Nix discovered the problem Feb. 3 while reviewing an inmate's file. The prisoner's tentative parole month — a date the board sets for the inmate's potential release — already had passed.
Nix asked Beth Oxford, director of parole, to find out why there had been a delay. Oxford checked with Sullivan and removed about 100 files from his office.
Oxford concluded that 59 of the cases were "late, pending follow-up action or otherwise questionable," according to a summary provided by board officials. Parole officials determined that the tentative parole dates for 26 inmates had passed while the files sat in Sullivan's office. The other 33 files required board action before they could move forward. Almost all of the files had been flagged for a variety of reasons. In some cases, judges, prosecutors or victims' families had opposed early release.
Heartbreak predicted
Still, the concerns should have been addressed and the files placed before the parole board for consideration, said board member Mike Light.
An advocate who works with inmates' families said the revelation of the neglected files will anger people with loved ones in prison.
"Hearing this news is going to leave family members heartbroken — that the people who hold the keys to the future and freedom of family members have failed to do their most basic duty," said Sara Totonchi of Fairness to Prisoners' Families in Atlanta.
In a Feb. 9 memo to Sullivan, Oxford wrote that his inaction "constitutes gross insubordination, willful misconduct and inexcusable negligence. Moreover, you have exposed the Parole Board to potential liability from lawsuits by these offenders and thwarted the will of the Board in many of these cases."
On Feb. 16, the parole board voted to demote Sullivan. Three days later, Sullivan was reassigned to head an office of 15 parole investigators. He no longer has authority over when or whether inmates should be released.
In parole files, Sullivan gives a variety of reasons for inaction on the files. In a narrative Oxford wrote, Sullivan complained of not having enough time to process the files. Sullivan also told Oxford that he was focused on making sure his 70-member staff was processing files rather than clearing the ones in his own office. Sullivan "profusely apologized for the problems," Oxford wrote.
Sullivan, a 27-year parole employee and director of clemency since 1999, had never been formally disciplined before the board's action. The most recent review in his personnel file, in 2003, notes that "Mike's management of the Clemency Division is always competent and professional."
Discipline disputed
Parole board members disagreed on how to discipline Sullivan. Records show members Garfield Hammonds and Eugene Walker wanted to dock Sullivan's pay for two weeks, issue a letter of reprimand and implement reforms to prevent a recurrence. Nix's motion to demote Sullivan passed with the support of members Light and Garland Hunt.
Willard, of the attorney general's office, said the parole board sought its advice on how to deal with Sullivan. He would not say what that advice was, nor would parole officials.
"They chose not to follow it," Willard said Friday. "After they took the limited personnel action . . . we advised them that we were going to review the matter internally for any possible criminal violations."
Parole board officials defended their decision.
"We weighed the range of options against his otherwise outstanding 27-year career with parole," said Hedrick. "A demotion and a significant salary reduction was deemed appropriate."
Nix said the board acted appropriately once it discovered the files. The agency has initiated measures to prevent similar problems in the future, including plans to track parole files electronically rather than relying on the current paper system, Nix said.
The problems come to light as the parole agency emerges from a corruption scandal.
Board member Bobby Whitworth was convicted last year of accepting money from probation companies in exchange for influencing legislation that would have benefited those companies. Then-board Chairman Walter Ray also accepted money for consulting services but was not charged. Nix replaced Ray as chairman in 2002.
"The entire board has worked so hard to build up trust that was lost by what took place in the past," Nix said. "I want to do everything I can to help this agency move forward so the public can continue to have that trust."