Another ACI inmate mistakenly released

CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) - For the second time in just a matter of weeks, prison officials at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston mistakenly released an inmate.

According to Tracey Zeckhausen from the Department of Corrections , Leonard Martin, 23, had a larceny charge against him dropped. However, even though the judge ordered him held on a possession, prison officials released Martin Thursday morning.

The release was due to a clerical error when someone misinterpreted the court documents, said Corrections Director A.T. Wall

"Our Records & ID staff has to interpret paperwork from a dozen courts which can be very complicated. While the investigation is ongoing, this appears to be staff misinterpretation of paperwork," Wall said.

As soon as the mistake was discovered, Zeckhausen said the ACI's Special Investigation Unit began looking for Martin.

Martin actually ended up turning himself in to Providence police without incident Thursday afternoon, Zeckhausen said.

This latest mistake comes just one month after another inmate escaped the ACI by posing as another inmate.

Nayquan Gadson was later caught in Brooklyn, NY . He's since been returned to the ACI.

"This is a very different set of circumstances from the Nayquan Gadson escape," Wall said in a statement Friday afternoon. "We have had approximately 180,000 releases over the course of the last 10 years. The situation with Nayquan Gadson was the only one of its kind in all that time."

Wall said the Department of Corrections has taken steps to improve procedures since Gadson's release, including the testing of I.R.I.S scanning technology , which identifies inmates by scanning their eyes.

"After this investigation we will know whether other changes need to be made," Wall said.