Computer Error Gives 450 California Inmates 'Get Out of Jail Free' Card
Computer Error Gives 450 California Inmates 'Get Out of Jail Free' Card
Posted 05/27/2011 at 10:50am
| by Paul Lilly
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Those yellow and orange 'Get Out of Jail Free' cards from Monopoly don't actually exist in real life, but for more than 450 inmates at a California prison with "a high risk of violence," they didn't need one. A computer error allowed them to walk free on "non-revocable parole," meaning they're not required to check in with parole officers and will only be put back behind bars if they're caught committing a crime.
Word of the snafu comes two days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California's prisons are too overcrowded and upheld an earlier order that state officials would have to figure out a way to reduce the population of inmates from 143,335 to around 33,000, the L.A. Times reports.
Here's how it works, and where things went wrong. The law that created non-revocable parole excludes inmates that are gang members, have committed sex crimes or violent felonies, or have been determined to pose a high risk to commit another crime based on their records behind bars. You know, the types you wouldn't want to run into on a lighted street, nevermind a back alley. However, the computer program prison officials used to make that assessment has no way of accessing an inmate's disciplinary history. It instead relies on a state Department of Justice system that records arrests but not conviction information for about half of the state's 16.4 million arrest records.
In a review of 200 case files out of 10,134 former inmates given non-revocable parole in July of last year, it was found that 31 were not eligible, and nine were determined likely to commit violent crimes. That's a 15 percent error rate for that sample, which translates to more than 450 violent inmates being released during the first seven months of the program.
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hgujyujy
May 29, 2011 at 8:38am
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Ghok
May 28, 2011 at 10:46pm
@Gezzer
I also can't reply to posts. I get logged out. Is that what happens to you?
This whole thread has been so obviously sidetracked anyhow. :P
Danthrax66
May 27, 2011 at 3:16pm
They should probably just legalize weed that would reduce the amount of prisoners, increase tax revenue, and be a step toward ending/reducing violence in mexico.
Marthian
May 27, 2011 at 4:29pm
I don't get you people suggesting this. If you really wanted a good way to increase tax revenue, it would be to tax porn, but I bet a lot of people would hate that too.
level1paladin
May 28, 2011 at 12:35pm
I don't get you people who don't understand criminalizing weed makes your children grow up in a life of crime.
D00dlavy
May 27, 2011 at 2:15pm
I'm happy because my homedawg Shifty got out. I missed Shifty, that switchblade-carrying, rapist rapscallion.
Now, on a serious note, if I were a relative to one of these guys' victims and they got out on an error while my family was still suffering, I'd sue the state and find some way to have the inmate killed. But, that's just me.
...And, if I went to jail for my vigilantism, I’d know it's just a matter of time before some benevolent computer let me loose.
Gezzer
May 27, 2011 at 2:06pm
@mrclean816
Hey dude you didn't use a capital for we, and no period! Wow you must have an IQ of 22! ;OD
Just kidding. ROTFLMAO
Oh BTW, I didn't mean to take your highly important task away from you Atomike by pointing out mrclean's grammer mistakes. I promise it won't happen again.
Gezzer
May 27, 2011 at 1:41pm
@ Atomike.
Oh and btw. You DO mean to make me feel bad even though you said otherwise. Why would you pick on one minor point about grammer if you didn't mean yo make me feel bad.
You comments drip with condemnation. Dude you might think otherwise but your a simple troll and flamer.
Gezzer
May 27, 2011 at 1:37pm
@Atomike
Wow, again a totally valid comment on the subject at hand. Do you know that any currently used language is always in a state of flux. So in fact the grammer you hold so dearly may in 10 years be considered out moded.
But again, you might feel it adds to the discussion, but does it really. You didn't address the point of my post only the way it was presented. Which by the way I simply missed one quotation mark it's not that it was a total pile of gibberish.
BTW though you really don't need to know this I have mild dyslexia, and struggle at times to simply frame any post.
But that's not what's important!
In fact I have another question for you. How does the addition of "may have" have no validity?
In the body of the article it states that the data was extrapolated from a small sample. As was pointed out by someone else. This means it's not hard data. So it could be more or less, there is no way of knowing till a full accounting is made.
Gezzer
May 27, 2011 at 1:18pm
Since the stupid system never seems to let me reply to a post I'll do it this way.
@Atomike. Thanks for the info, grammer police. ;)
I've never understood why some one posts a dumb grammer correction as a sign that the stated post has no validity.
Sure I didn't proof read the post before I hit the save. Does it actually mean I don't have a point?
Of course not. I think there's just as much "irony" in any grammer policeman's post. The fact that all they can come up with is said grammer mistakes and feel compelled to comment on the same. Do you really feel that policing grammer means your adding valuable information to the discussion? lol
Atomike
May 27, 2011 at 1:32pm
It definitely adds value to the discussion if it encourages people to stay in school.
Listen kids - pay attention to your teacher. If you don't, everyone will know that you don't know the proper usage of basic words.
I don't mean to make you feel bad, but really, if you're going to post in a forum, there is some basic grammar that should be known. So, swallow your pride, and be happy this didn't happen on a job interview.
Gezzer
May 27, 2011 at 12:32pm
Man this whole post has problems. When did MaxPC start with "shock" headlines?
It should read "Computer error may of given up to 450 or more inmates a get out of jail free card.
Atomike
May 27, 2011 at 12:49pm
You have 2 mistakes in your own "edited" headline.
1. No end quotes.
2. "may of" - no need to explain this one. Too obvious.
Not a big deal - I'm just saying this is a little ironic.
bloodgain
May 27, 2011 at 11:59am
Umm, shouldn't these be verified and approved by, you know, an actual person? Since when do we let computers decide when to parole someone? Geez, California, you're supposed to set technological precedents!
Also, according to the L.A. Times post, the goal is to reduce the prison population *by* 33,000, not *to* 33,000. Reducing it by 110,000 would be quite the task, and would require an awful lot of parole officers.
Edit: The sample size for their study was 200 for a population of over 10K. To achieve enough confidence in their measured "error rate," they should have studied 300-500 cases. That 15% error rate could be too high or too low by a significant amount.
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