SEBASTIAN COUNTY - A Georgia sex offender is back behind bars in Sebastian County after he was mistakenly released Monday afternoon.
24-year-old Fulton Matthew Hendrix was recaptured Tuesday. Authorities staked out several locations. Sheriff Frank Atkinson says Hendrix had a similar name to someone scheduled for release. A jailer grabbed the wrong file.
Hendrix was convicted of statutory rape in 2005. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation's website lists him as having absconded. He is considered a fugitive from justice and is wanted for failing to register as a sex offender. He was arrested in Fort Smith last month.
Monday's accidental release raises the question of whether or not there is a systemic problem at the Sebastian County Detention Center. Earlier this year two deputies were arrested for DWI, another on allegations of sexual assault of inmates, and a fourth was terminated for failing to follow proper procedure. In July an inmate escaped by posing as another prisoner just days after a female fled the jail. Last month officials at Sebastian County said they were putting changes in place after two inmates were mistakenly released.
"How would I have stopped any of that?" Sheriff Atkinson asked in response to our questions about the situation. "They [jailers] have been well trained you have to depend on them to do their job correctly. And they make mistakes."
And they suffer the consequences for them, too according to Atkinson. The sheriff defended his staff, saying that Sebastian County is not alone in the issues it faces.
"They have problems everywhere it's not just us everywhere overcrowding uses people being released by mistake. It happens," he said.
County judge David Hudson says the mistaken release could be attributed to a much bigger issue at the jail.
"It's operating over its capacity by over 100 inmates as of last night so the jail staff is stressed," Hudson told 5NEWS.
The Sebastian County Detention Center's capacity is 356. They had 466 inmates as of Monday. More than 37 percent of those prisoners are awaiting beds in the penitentiary. It appears the state has overcrowding issues of its own. Judge Hudson says they've discussed diversion programs for low level offenders and other ideas to alleviate the overcrowding. The jail was built in 1994 and expanded in 2007 without a tax increase.
As for Fulton Matthew Hendrix, we wanted to know if he will be charged with walking away.
"That's going to be up to the prosecuting attorney," the sheriff said. "Cause after all we released him. He didn't escape."
The county imposed a 20 dollar fee on misdemeanors and the city of Fort Smith followed suit. Judge Hudson has suggested that it could be used for a minimum security work release facility. Hudson did not rule out the possibility of a future tax increase to address overcrowding.
24-year-old Fulton Matthew Hendrix was recaptured Tuesday. Authorities staked out several locations. Sheriff Frank Atkinson says Hendrix had a similar name to someone scheduled for release. A jailer grabbed the wrong file.
Hendrix was convicted of statutory rape in 2005. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation's website lists him as having absconded. He is considered a fugitive from justice and is wanted for failing to register as a sex offender. He was arrested in Fort Smith last month.
Monday's accidental release raises the question of whether or not there is a systemic problem at the Sebastian County Detention Center. Earlier this year two deputies were arrested for DWI, another on allegations of sexual assault of inmates, and a fourth was terminated for failing to follow proper procedure. In July an inmate escaped by posing as another prisoner just days after a female fled the jail. Last month officials at Sebastian County said they were putting changes in place after two inmates were mistakenly released.
"How would I have stopped any of that?" Sheriff Atkinson asked in response to our questions about the situation. "They [jailers] have been well trained you have to depend on them to do their job correctly. And they make mistakes."
And they suffer the consequences for them, too according to Atkinson. The sheriff defended his staff, saying that Sebastian County is not alone in the issues it faces.
"They have problems everywhere it's not just us everywhere overcrowding uses people being released by mistake. It happens," he said.
County judge David Hudson says the mistaken release could be attributed to a much bigger issue at the jail.
"It's operating over its capacity by over 100 inmates as of last night so the jail staff is stressed," Hudson told 5NEWS.
The Sebastian County Detention Center's capacity is 356. They had 466 inmates as of Monday. More than 37 percent of those prisoners are awaiting beds in the penitentiary. It appears the state has overcrowding issues of its own. Judge Hudson says they've discussed diversion programs for low level offenders and other ideas to alleviate the overcrowding. The jail was built in 1994 and expanded in 2007 without a tax increase.
As for Fulton Matthew Hendrix, we wanted to know if he will be charged with walking away.
"That's going to be up to the prosecuting attorney," the sheriff said. "Cause after all we released him. He didn't escape."
The county imposed a 20 dollar fee on misdemeanors and the city of Fort Smith followed suit. Judge Hudson has suggested that it could be used for a minimum security work release facility. Hudson did not rule out the possibility of a future tax increase to address overcrowding.
