Posted on 05/23/2009 2:19:24 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Dwayne Keith Fitzen — "Shadow" to fellow inmates at the federal prison in Waseca, Minn. — was halfway through his 24-year sentence when prison officials decided to move him to a facility in California.
To make the transfer, the Bureau of Prisons did something fairly routine for the government agency: It bought Shadow a one-way bus ticket and sent him, traveling unsupervised and unmarked, on the two-day trip.
Fitzen was 55 at the time, a motorcycle gang member convicted of dealing cocaine. He got off the bus in Las Vegas, about 400 miles short of his scheduled destination, and became a fugitive. Five years later he's still at large.
Since April 2006, the Bureau of Prisons has allowed 89,794 federal inmates to be transferred without escorts, traveling mainly by bus. The rationale behind the unescorted transfers, according to bureau spokeswoman Traci Billingsley, is purely economic: Having prison officials, or U.S. marshals, in charge of moving inmates who have been prescreened and deemed low-risk would be incredibly expensive, she said. Exactly how much it would cost, the Bureau of Prisons doesn't know.
Historically, fewer than 1 in 500 inmates being transferred without escorts have absconded, Billingsley said. Although the federal agency doesn't have the exact numbers for recent years, that calculates to no more than 180 inmates since 2006. The Bureau thinks this number is small enough to justify the cost-saving program, though bus companies don't agree.
Bus companies have no idea when inmates are being transferred. Greyhound in particular has asked the federal prison system several times to stop transferring convicts on its fleet.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Sounds like a early release program Gov. style!
Sounds like a early release program Gov. style!
What’s one more scuzzball in Las Vegas?
Unbelivably stupid.
So the bureau of prisons is facilitating prison breaks. Why not, we elect Kenyans to be president.
So the system tries to save money by not sending an escort, but has no problem placing somebody on death row, after sentencing, for 25 years at a cost of 35K a year!?
Crap, nobody on the bus would know to be on guard for someone, male or female, who’s a convict. Yikes.
He’s 55. Was lookin’ at 12 more years. Gets out at 67 years. It’s a no-brainer! Enjoy some freedom while ya still can function well. If I were in his place? Well,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Note to self: Stay OFF the bus!
This is one we can’t blame on Obama.
How stupid! I’m surprised more prisoners haven’t taken off. Of course, there are 180 prisoners that have. I wonder if any have been caught or if they are still at large.
Good questions. not sure.. The US Marshals are ensured job security for quite awhile at this rate.
So five years later, we have saved about $250,000 ($50K a year for prison costs). I think 12 years was enough.
Just more rationale that law abiding and innocent taxpayer and patriotic citizens are safer being housed in vacant prison cells and prisons like Guantanomo. At least then they are well protected by police and US Military.
He’s 55. Was lookin’ at 12 more years. Gets out at 67 years. It’s a no-brainer! Enjoy some freedom while ya still can function well. If I were in his place? Well,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
That’s exactly what I was thinking.
“So five years later, we have saved about $250,000 ($50K a year for prison costs). I think 12 years was enough.”
You would have to know how much misery and loss of property, etc. he has caused law-abiding citizens during the five years that he has been a fugitive to be able to formulate a rational answer to that question.
That is what I was thinking, he has already gained those years of 55 to 60, I would say that at his age he was not a good candidate for self transfer to continue the second half of his sentence.
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