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State Releases Convict By Mistake And Three People Die
A Michigan Department of Corrections internal review reveals that the man accused of killing his ex-wife and her children in their Pontiac home should not have been released from prison.
Officials said Daniel Franklin was released because of a coding error that failed to recognize he had committed new crimes after his arrest for a 1998 drug violation.
Corrections Department Director Patricia Caruso said Franklin was not eligible for parole under new sentencing laws that give judges more flexibility in sentencing drug offenders, eliminate mandatory minimum sentences and open the door for early parole.
A coding error listed Franklin as being imprisoned on a new offense, Caruso said. Instead, he should have been coded as a parole violator who committed a new crime, she said. That would have made him ineligible for early parole under the new laws.
Franklin committed new drug crimes just before the end of his parole in May 1998, Caruso said. However, he was not arrested for those crimes until June 9, 1998, after he was discharged from parole, she said.
Caruso said Robinson's family has been notified of the error and the department was asked to communicate with them through the family's lawyer.
When Franklin was paroled last month, it was about three years early. He shouldn't have been eligible for parole until 2006, Caruso said.
Franklin was released from prison on June 17. He is accused of stabbing to death his ex-wife, Machekia Robinson, 28, and her two children, Rockell Johnson, 10, and Teria Johnson, in their home on Starlight Street on June 22 -- five days after his release.
Family members of Robinson said they notified prison officials and Pontiac police of threatening e-mails that Franklin had apparently sent to his ex-wife from prison. The family said authorities failed to act on their warnings, Local 4 reported.
"I do feel a strong sense of failure by the criminal justice system. My sister had made a complaint with Machekia the day after the man was released. He came to the home, there was issues there; police turned their back to that," said James Robinson, Machekia's uncle.
Caruso said outgoing prison mail is not examined except in extreme circumstances and no one had notified the department that Franklin was sending threatening letters.
She also said the department is implementing a number of changes to prevent similar mistakes from happening. The department is conducting an audit of the more than 400 people who have been paroled under the new laws, she said.
State Rep. Hansen Clark -- a friend of the Robinson family -- said the department's internal investigation is not good enough, and he wants an external investigation of the department to take place, Local 4 reported.
Officials said Daniel Franklin was released because of a coding error that failed to recognize he had committed new crimes after his arrest for a 1998 drug violation.
Corrections Department Director Patricia Caruso said Franklin was not eligible for parole under new sentencing laws that give judges more flexibility in sentencing drug offenders, eliminate mandatory minimum sentences and open the door for early parole.
A coding error listed Franklin as being imprisoned on a new offense, Caruso said. Instead, he should have been coded as a parole violator who committed a new crime, she said. That would have made him ineligible for early parole under the new laws.
Franklin committed new drug crimes just before the end of his parole in May 1998, Caruso said. However, he was not arrested for those crimes until June 9, 1998, after he was discharged from parole, she said.
Caruso said Robinson's family has been notified of the error and the department was asked to communicate with them through the family's lawyer.
When Franklin was paroled last month, it was about three years early. He shouldn't have been eligible for parole until 2006, Caruso said.
Franklin was released from prison on June 17. He is accused of stabbing to death his ex-wife, Machekia Robinson, 28, and her two children, Rockell Johnson, 10, and Teria Johnson, in their home on Starlight Street on June 22 -- five days after his release.
Family members of Robinson said they notified prison officials and Pontiac police of threatening e-mails that Franklin had apparently sent to his ex-wife from prison. The family said authorities failed to act on their warnings, Local 4 reported.
"I do feel a strong sense of failure by the criminal justice system. My sister had made a complaint with Machekia the day after the man was released. He came to the home, there was issues there; police turned their back to that," said James Robinson, Machekia's uncle.
Caruso said outgoing prison mail is not examined except in extreme circumstances and no one had notified the department that Franklin was sending threatening letters.
She also said the department is implementing a number of changes to prevent similar mistakes from happening. The department is conducting an audit of the more than 400 people who have been paroled under the new laws, she said.
State Rep. Hansen Clark -- a friend of the Robinson family -- said the department's internal investigation is not good enough, and he wants an external investigation of the department to take place, Local 4 reported.
Someone needs to loose their job over this. Convicts don't spend enough time in jail to begin with, we don't need to be letting them out by mistake.
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