Man freed from prison ‘by accident’
i PA Auckland j An Auckland man . was acIcidentally released from (Mount Eden Prison because a photocopied custody warrant “got stuck in the back of his file.” The acting prison superin'tendent, Mr F.'Hurley, said yesterday that the order was overlooked by his staff and the man, George Nathan Herbert, aged 26, was released on January 15. ; Herbert was to appear in the Supreme Court at Hamilton on Thursday, to face a kidnapping charge. When he failed to appear the prison error was discovered.
Mr Hurley said Herbert was freed after completing a three-month sentence on other charges. Staff had “overlooked” .the warrant demanding ' that he be kept in custody until'the trial in Hamilton. The warrant had been photocopied and was “stuck in the back of his file" when he was transferred from the Waikeria Youth Centre to Mount Eden on December 20, Mr Hurley said. “It was purely a case of human error,” he said: Herbert was to appear before Mr Justice Greig on a charge relating to an incident last October in which a woman taxi-driver was allegedly forced to drive at knifepoint from Mercer towards Hamilton. . J.'A warrant has been , issued for his arrest.
Man freed from prison ‘by accident’
Press, 16 February 1980, Page 2
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