Mistaken Release of Alabama Inmate Under Review

Alabama prison officials say a fake court document may have been behind the mistaken release of a state inmate from a county jail.

A spokesman says 37-year-old inmate Bobby Campbell Jr., who was serving time for the second-degree rape of a 13-year-old in 2004, was transferred to the Barbour County Jail from Fountain prison in November based on a supposed court order. He was then freed, as a judge seemed to mandate.

But a prison spokesman says that document apparently was a fake, and officials are trying to determine how it made it into the court system. Prison officials didn’t discover Campbell’s release until this week, but he has been free since Nov. 17.

Barbour County Chief Deputy Ricky Dollar declined comment.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)