Goal: Keep soon-to-be-released felons in prison

RALEIGH -- Federal prosecutors will examine the cases of the 20 murderers and rapists soon to be freed from state prison in hopes of finding federal crimes that might keep them behind bars.

State officials say they are being forced to release 20 inmates convicted of crimes punished by life sentences in the 1970s. Recent rulings from the state's higher courts found that life sentences applied in those years amount only to 40 years. That time, the courts have ruled, can be further reduced by merit time awarded to prisoners who behave well, work jobs and earn degrees.

"It's absolutely outrageous that the state had an oversight of this magnitude and we are just now finding out about it," said George Holding, U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of North Carolina. "I don't know how you can overlook a situation like this. It's an old law."

A plea from a single prisoner, Bobby Bowden, a former death-row inmate convicted of killing two people in Fayetteville in 1975, initiated the mass release.

The inmates will be freed Oct. 29, released to a world greatly changed from the one they left when they were in their 20s and 30s. As many as 10 more prisoners are expected to be released each year over the next several years because of the courts' rulings.

Holding has assigned a prosecutor to look for federal crimes these prisoners might have committed but for which they were never prosecuted. Because state and federal governments are considered sovereign, or independent, higher courts have held that citizens can face both state and federal charges for crimes related to the same incident.

His staff will look for crimes that occurred on federal property or the killing of a federal employee. Some federal charges can be brought only for a certain number of years after the incident.

"It's a long shot," Holding said. "But this is an outrage."

The deadline is tight, too. If Holding's staff finds a crime to prosecute, it will try to detain the inmate in federal custody before he or she is freed Oct. 29.

Lawyers from the state Attorney General's Office argued to the state Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court to keep the prisoners in custody. They were unsuccessful. A spokeswoman said last week that they do not see any other remedy.

Local prosecutors are also reviewing old files, looking for crimes they might have overlooked. In the meantime, state prison officials are readying the inmates for their release.

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