Staff Writer
Authorities recaptured two Florida
prisoners, Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker, at a Panama City motel on
Saturday October 19. Jenkins and Walker
were released from the Franklin Correctional Facility in Carrabelle with bogus
paperwork, reducing their sentences to 15 years. If it were not for a member of one of the
murder victim’s families contacting prosecutors (victim’s families are
automatically notified when a felon is released), authorities might not have known
of the mistaken releases. With the two
convicts now captured, authorities have shifted their focus to the forged
paperwork, Police have made no arrests so far in the investigation.
The Florida Department of Law
Enforcement and the Department of Corrections are currently investigating the
error in the system, starting with the Orange County Clerk of Courts
Office. The office gave the final answer
to the release of Jenkins and Walker.
Authorities have found several red flags in this situation, each raising
questions as to how the Clerk of Courts Office did not catch any of these. A few days before leaving prison, Jenkins and
Walker were registered at the Orange County Jail. The registration required signed paperwork
(both papers bore Chief Circuit Judge Belvin Perry’s signature, one that is
easily found online), fingerprints, and a photograph before they walked out,
not one question was raised. Authorities
are also investigating if there was a third party involved and how Jenkins and
Walker went around Florida’s judicial system.
So far, authorities have not identified any workers who helped the
inmates with their escape, but authorities will continue to investigate any
possibilities of a third party.
The mistaken release has caused The
Corrections Department to now require early releases to be verified by not only
prison officials and court clerks, but also judges (that issued the order). Chief Circuit Judge Belvin Perry has also
issued an order that prohibits judicial orders from being accepted at drop-off
boxes and that also requires judicial assistants to keep a log of all orders to
change an inmate's prison sentence.
Walker and Jenkins have been transferred
to the Orange County Jail, the two will be held in separate locations from each
other in maximum security. Both men were
said to have cooperated in the recapture without incident, but as far as questioning
is concerned, neither is cooperating.
