Case Records Analysts exonerated in Olson snafu
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation informed three correctional case records analysts Friday that they were exonerated of all wrongdoing in the mistaken release of bank robber Sara Jane Olson.
All three analysts, who work at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, learned from Warden Deborah Patrick that they had been cleared of all wrongdoing or neglect in the Olson case. In addition, the Los Angeles Times and Associated Press both reported that a CDCR supervisor and a manager who reviewed the file were also cleared of misconduct.
“The involved staff were not culpable of misconduct,” CDCR stated in a letter sent Friday morning. “They will be receiving letters in short order that the allegations were unfounded/exonerated.”
The three analysts, all women with many years of experience calculating the release times of inmates, were accused of “neglect of duty” on March 24 and interviewed by internal affairs investigators.
The investigation was prompted after Olson, a former member of the radical group the Symbionese Liberation Army, was released March 17 then re-arrested several days later as she prepared to leave the state with her husband. Olson was sentenced in 1999 for her role in SLA crimes from 1975. Corrections officials apparently calculated her sentence as 12 years instead of the 14 ordered by the judge.
The confusion over the Olson case, which was reviewed at the highest levels, underscores problems that have been festering in the Case Records section of CDCR for decades, where analysts review every case with paper and pen, and make all calculations by hand because there is no computer tracking system.
A 2006 study commissioned by CDCR found that staff shortages, high turnover, lack of training and stress have damaged the effectiveness of case records work. According to the study’s authors, "case records offices cannot operate at an optimal level of efficiency until they are provided with a stable workforce, the resources needed to meet operational demands, and a work environment that promotes staff productivity.” The study was completed in June 2006 by the Division of Criminal Justice, CSU-Sacramento.
CDCR initially blamed Olson’s release on a “clerical error.” Local 1000 and all three women have maintained their innocence from the beginning. After a Local 1000 investigation revealed that managers and administrators had reviewed Olson’s file four times in three months before her release, the CDCR top brass acknowledged administrative mistakes also occurred.
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“We’re happy three innocent union members were exonerated in this case,” said SEIU Local 1000 President Jim Hard. “But this never should have happened. Our case records analysts at Chowchilla were innocent from Day One. They never should have been accused of wrongdoing in the first place.
“CDCR tried to make them into scapegoats but these are three tough women,” Hard said. “And Local 1000 stood behind them 100 percent.”
The three women, who do not want their names released publicly, all said Friday they were relieved.
“The nightmare is over – we wish this had never happened,” said an analyst with 10 years experience. “This process has been incredibly stressful for all three of us. We knew it wasn’t our fault. We all thought we would be cleared three weeks ago.”
Last December, Local 1000 asked the California Superior Court to declare that CDCR has violated the state Constitution, laws, regulations and policy by failing to recalculate release dates for up to 33,000 prisoners as required by recent court decisions.
Two state Court of Appeal decisions and one state Supreme Court decision were being ignored by CDCR, according to court papers filed by Local 1000. All three decisions modify how release dates are calculated for violent and non-violent offenses. Application of these decisions throughout the prison system requires painstaking, hand recalculation by the CDCR Case Records Offices. Due to their severe backlog, these hand calculations have not been completed by all CDCR institutions.
“Case records analysts are overwhelmed by their workload,” said Marc Bautista, Local 1000 vice president for organizing and representation. “Understaffing is pervasive and chronic throughout the prison system, and there is not enough training on legislative and legal mandates.”