Pennsylvania county jail kept inmate 17 months too long
LANCASTER, Pa. -- Officials at a county jail in Pennsylvania say they mistakenly kept an inmate locked up 17 months too long.
The Lancaster County commissioners tell LNP the inmate doesn't want to be identified. But they say the inmate was supposed to be released in November 2014, but wasn't released until last month.
The commissioners didn't immediately make clear when or how the error was discovered, but officials say they know how it happened.
Officials say new charges against another inmate with the same name were mistakenly duplicated and put in both inmates' files.
Warden Cheryl Steberger issued a statement saying officials wanted to publicly acknowledge the mistake and apologize.
The jail, which is called the Lancaster County Prison, is making changes including reviewing the records of all inmates with the same last name.