SEATTLE – The son of state Sen. Pam Roach was released from prison more than 100 days early, even though community corrections officers warned it would violate policy.
Stephen Roach, 26, was released May 1 because he had been improperly classified as having a low risk of reoffending, a Seattle newspaper reported Saturday.
Two officers assigned to the case opposed the release and raised written and verbal concerns, the newspaper said, and some of their written complaints were deleted from the case record.
Stephen Roach was serving a 20-month sentence on drug charges, in part for selling OxyContin to an undercover officer in 2004. He was classified as Risk Management C, which entitled him to halving on his sentence for good behavior.
But Roach had a previous assault on his record, one involving injury to a stranger. That means he should have been classified as Risk Management A – entitling him to one-third of his sentence off for good behavior.
Weeks before his release, community corrections officers John Conaty and Erica Lee-Odell noted to their bosses that Roach should be reclassified. He was freed anyway – only to be reclassified three days later. At that point, officials said there was no reason to bring him back to prison because he had not violated the conditions of his release.
Sen. Pam Roach of Auburn is a 16-year Republican legislator who has championed efforts to get tough on crime and increase prison terms.
Though she concedes calling Corrections Secretary Harold Clarke to complain about Conaty and Lee-Odell, she told the newspaper: “I had nothing to do with whenever (Stephen) gets in or gets out,” and “I would never interject myself like that. I would never do that.”
Corrections Department officials acknowledge the release was a mistake, but they say it had nothing to do with her political clout.
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