Forged Documents – Get Two Out of Prison - Were Risks Assessed?

Two Florida inmates walked out of prison based on forged documents authorizing their early release from life sentences. This is an impressive prison escape and it shows the importance of an appropriate internal control system.

In a letter addressed to Florida's Circuit Court judges, Michael Crews, secretary of the Department of Corrections, writes the department would require verification of any future order from a sentencing judge that results in early release of an inmate.

The inmate will not be released until verification is received, Crews writes. "In light of the potential for fraudulent use of court papers, we believe that the additional step of providing verification of sentence modification court orders is an important safeguard in ensuring the integrity of the judicial process…"

The letter follows after the convicted murderers, Joseph Jenkins 

and Charles Walker

checked in as required by Florida law with a jail after they gained their freedom from the Franklin Correctional Institution in Carrabelle, Florida.

As I've written in previous blogs, forged documents are easy to produce. Clever individuals who understand the systems in place, and where weaknesses exist, can exploit that system.

While there will be legislative hearings on this case, based on my experience, it is likely the Department of Corrections did not formally assess the risk of this type of escape and design control systems to assure the risk was mitigated.

Here is one the forged document related to Joseph Jenkins release: