CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — The sheriff who runs the jail where a convicted murderer was released by mistake says it can happen again if his computer system isn’t upgraded.
Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen said his workers are using a computer system more than 40 years old, and it’s difficult to navigate.
Allen pointed out to Channel 2’s Tom Jones in an exclusive interview that it was human error that led to Kathan Guzman’s release.
But he said a very old computer system handcuffs his workers and puts them in a position to make these kinds of mistakes.
“We are completely outdated,” Allen said.
Allen said the jail management computer system his office uses--called CP-U8 -- is more than four decades old.
He said the archaic system contributes to mistakes like the one that saw convicted murderer Guzman released from jail, even though he was sentenced to life in prison.
Jones saw how confusing the system is as Allen and some of his staff tried to operate it.
Allen said there are so many codes and pages, and numbers that the system is very difficult to navigate.
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He then moved on to a screen to show how Guzman was released by mistake.
“This is Guzman,” Allen said, referring to a profile on the computer with all his information.
Allen said a worker received paperwork from the courts that showed a charge had been dismissed for Guzman.
“So, in her mind, when this paper comes over, ‘Hey, I’m dismissing the charge.’ She goes in and she releases the charge,” Allen said.
She didn’t see the jury convicted him of murder.
The sheriff said Guzman’s screen had eight murder charges listed, even though he only faced one count of murder. And he said the screen had codes and abbreviations hard to figure out.
“So, everything is abbreviated. It’s just old and outdated, to where a new system would help curb something like this,” Allen said.
Allen said what makes it even more difficult is the court’s computer system has been upgraded and isn’t connected to his old system.
He said his system needs to be upgraded as soon as possible.
“If not, I want to tell you there are gonna be errors,” Allen said.
The sheriff said the county is deciding when to upgrade his computer system. He says it could cost between $10 million and $14 million.
And he said if they decided to do it now, it wouldn’t be ready to be used until 2028.
Allen said paperwork has to be walked over from the courts to the jail. He said that’s unacceptable in this day and age, and it all should be computerized and accessible by everyone who needs to see it.
He said hand walking over paperwork slows down inmates who have been ordered to be released.
The sheriff fired three workers, including a supervisor, for their role in Guzman’s release. that
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