Published: February 06, 2009 11:43 pm      

Prison error shocks mother

IDOC automated system erroneously notified thousands of inmate releases

With just one phone call, Sheila Richardson’s world nearly came crashing down Thursday.

The call was an automated message from the Indiana Department of Correction informing her that Joshua Napolitano, the man convicted of killing her son, was being released from prison eight years earlier than expected.

“It was certainly a scary feeling,” she said Friday of the call.

“I was at work when I received the call,” she said. “All of sudden, my entire world stopped spinning for me. It took me back to when it first happened. Of course, I had to leave work. I was in no shape to concentrate on anything. I thought ‘Oh my God, is he here? Am I going to run into to him at Wal-Mart?’”

Richardson then called the prison to confirm his release.

No luck.

She then turned to Kokomo attorney Mark McCann, who prosecuted the case. McCann eased her mind and told her it was an error and Napolitano was not being released.

“My heart started beating again and I returned to work,” she said.

Napolitano was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the 2003 shooting death of Richardson’s son, Mitchell Bundy, and received a 30 year prison sentence just four years ago.

After the conviction, Richardson registered for the prison’s Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification system to make sure she knew when Napolitano would be released.

“We have a date we know he’s getting out on and that date’s coming up,” Richardson said of the 2017 release date. “You find a way to put all emotions away somewhere — where you can return to function as somewhat of a normal human being. Then someone pulls a rug out from under your feet when you least expect it. I felt the world came crashing down on me. I certainly wouldn’t think this program, which is through the prison system, would be one of those people who pulled that rug out from underneath me.”

Edwin G. Buss, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction, said Friday in a news release that a computer glitch caused the error, and the system is now working properly.

The glitch caused 336 incorrect release notification calls and approximately 11,000 incorrect release notification e-mail’s across the state.

“Earlier today, while Appriss was performing maintenance on the system, a technical problem accidentally triggered ...,” the release stated.

Buss said the SAVIN system is based on the VINE notification system developed by Appriss, Inc., which allows concerned individuals to sign up for automated information concerning release and other movement of IDOC offenders.

These incorrect notifications reported inmate releases, when in fact, the vast majority of the offenders remain in custody.

Buss said no one was ever in danger, but these incorrect notifications resulted in concern and, in Richardson’s case, heartache for those who believed, incorrectly, that offenders had been released.

Appriss engineers noticed the problem when service representatives began receiving a large spike in follow-up calls from concerned registrants. After realizing the problem, the IDOC service was shut down until the problem was corrected.

“Our first and foremost concern is with those who received the erroneous notifications,” said Doug Cobb, Appriss CEO. “We are working closely with IDOC officials to resolve the problem and have provided accurate information to the more than 11,000 recipients who received the messages in error.”

Service representatives are also reaching out to the approximately 100 registrants who received accurate notifications Thursday to confirm the information they received was correct.

Buss expressed his regret for the concern and distress that may have been caused by the incorrect notifications.

“The IDOC is committed to providing accurate public safety information and we apologize for the errors made [Thursday],” Buss said.

Richardson did say that Buss called her Friday morning and apologized for the error after she sent a letter to the commissioner seeking answers.

“He did call and apologize,” she said. “My question is how did it happened and what are they going to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Mike Fletcher may be reached at (765) 454-8565 or via e-mail at mike.fletcher@kokomotribune.com



For more information:

For more information about Indiana SAVIN, contact the Victim Services Division at (317) 232-5749.