ODOC releases woman from prison 21 months late due to policy change
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An Oregon woman was abruptly released from a state prison earlier this spring, nearly two years after her sentence was set to end.
As first reported by Oregon Capital Chronicle, 56-year-old Bridget McDermott was notified of her immediate release from Coffee Creek Correctional Facility on Apr. 4 of this year — even though her reduced sentence was slated to end on July 5, 2022.
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According to the Oregon Department of Corrections, McDermott was serving time for being a felon in possession of a firearm, first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnapping and three counts of first-degree robbery. Per Oregon law, the kidnapping and robbery charges were not eligible for any sentence reduction.
She was initially sentenced to 16 years in prison in January 2010, although officials said her projected release date was Oct. 4, 2024.
But in 2021, a post-conviction case against ODOC pushed the department to change its policy. The state now allows earned-time credits for inmates who are concurrently serving time for some charges that are eligible for sentence reductions, and others that are not.
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Officials then reviewed 2,641 records on inmates who could have been impacted by the new policy. In an email, ODOC spokesperson Amber Campbell said this was an “extremely large project,” which required officials to evaluate a variety of sentencing factors.
“Sentence calculation errors are not common, and it is the goal of ODOC to have an accuracy rate of 100%,” Campbell added.
The corrections department is reviewing what exactly caused McDermott’s late release.
“Release planning is extremely important for every prisoner,” Ben Haile, an Oregon Justice Resource Center attorney who is representing McDermott, said in an email. “If our state would invest a little more in this, we would see more success stories and less people returning to prison.”
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Release planning consists of finding a home, job, counseling and seeking support from family, according to the attorney.
“Bridget McDermott got none of that due to errors by the Oregon Department of Corrections. ODOC needs a plan to support people through this transition when it deprives them of release planning,” Haile said.
In a statement, McDermott added that many people have supported her through the transition from prison.
“They caught me and held me when I needed them,” McDermott said. “My former cellmate for two and a half years took me in until I could find a job and a place to live. She worked for T-Mobile and got me a phone. Other people have helped me get oriented in many ways and enroll at U of O. It takes a village.”
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