SEATTLE – A man who was released early from a Washington state prison due to a software glitch is suing the Department of Corrections, saying his re-arrest three years later to serve the remaining time was illegal.
Orlando Wright was released in 2012, 76 days early, from his eight-year term for robbery. He was one of more than 3,000 inmates released prematurely due to the coding error, which lasted from 2002 to 2015.
When the problem became public, Corrections officials re-arrested some of the offenders released early. Among them was Wright, who by then says he had a job, housing and a baby, in addition to being enrolled at a technical school.
Wright's federal lawsuit, filed March 16, says the arrest was made without due process and upended his life, ruining everything he had rebuilt.
The department declined to comment.
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