Washington prison software fix delayed 16 times

OLYMPIA – Corrections officials said a software fix that would have prevented the erroneous early release of thousands of prisoners was delayed 16 times since it was first discovered in 2012.

Corrections Secretary Dan Pacholke said Tuesday it’s still uncertain why that fix never occurred, but an ongoing independent investigation will work to determine that.

Officials have said as many as 3,200 offenders have been wrongly released early since 2002. So far, they’ve apprehended 24 people who need to serve additional time, but an additional 44 former prisoners are being reviewed and potentially need to be brought into custody. Twenty-five arrest warrants have been issued, Pacholke said.

On Monday, the agency revealed that one of the prisoners released early because of the coding error was charged with killing his girlfriend in a car crash when he should have been behind bars.