11 inmates mistakenly released from Hamilton jail since 2021, documents show
CBC
Eleven inmates at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre have been mistakenly released in the past 2½ years, CBC Hamilton has learned.
The statistics, obtained by CBC through a freedom of information request, don't detail exactly when or how the improper releases occurred, but show the total since 2016.
Since 2021, there have been 11 mistaken releases of inmates:
The figures show there were three inmates improperly released in 2017, bringing the total to 14 accidental releases in six years.
Comparatively, there have only been two improper releases from the Niagara Detention Centre since 2016.
Asgar Manek, a Hamilton-based lawyer who represented a mistakenly released inmate, said he believes staffing levels at the jail may have played a role.
"They're short-staffed, there's no doubt about it," he said.
It's unclear what caused the improper releases.
The only time in the past few years the public ever learned of an inmate being let out by mistake was in the case of Shawn Delaney — the sole improper release in 2023.
Hamilton Police Service (HPS) previously said "an administrative error" led to the 46-year-old being released on March 3.
Court documents show Delaney had 33 days left to serve on his sentence.
He was convicted March 3 on 10 charges, including choking a person, and break-ins involving local businesses in 2021 and 2022. But instead of finishing his sentence, he was mistakenly freed.
Police said it learned about the mistake four days later, on March 7.
The service said it "exhausted all leads" for two days before issuing a media release on March 9.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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