Convicted murderers mistakenly released from Fla. prison

Convicted murderers mistakenly released from Fla. prison

AP 10:04 a.m. EDT October 17, 2013

Story Highlights

• Two men convicted on murder charges were mistakenly released from prison with forged papers
• Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker were released in September and October respectively
• The Florida Department of Law Enforcement learned about the mistake Tuesday

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Two men convicted on murder charges were mistakenly released from a Florida prison with forged documents, authorities said.

Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker were released separately from a prison in the Florida Panhandle in late September and early October, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement learned about the mistake Tuesday.

"These two individuals are out. They shouldn't be, and we want to get them back in custody," sheriff's office spokesman Angelo Nieves said. "This shouldn't have happened, but it did, and our concern is to get these individuals into custody."

Walker was serving a life sentence on a second-degree murder conviction stemming from a 1999 slaying in Orange County. Jenkins was serving a life sentence for a 1998 first-degree murder conviction in the killing of an Orlando man.

The Florida Department of Corrections says the men were released from the Carrabelle prison according to protocol. However, their releases were ordered based on forged documents filed through the Orange County Clerk of Courts to alter their sentences.

"I don't know how it happened," corrections spokeswoman Jessica Cary said Wednesday.

In a statement, Corrections Secretary Michael Crews said his agency is "conducting a vigorous and thorough review of releases that were based on modified court orders received from Orange County to ensure that there are no other inmates who have been released based on falsified documents."

State and local authorities are searching for the men and investigating how they got released.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/17/men-mistakenly-released-prison/3000111/