As far as how the men were able to evade the prison, he said “it was a system mistake,” mentioning two other cases in which forging signatures to attempt a false release had been tried, but had no success.
Still, Florida Department of Corrections officials said they are assessing policies to ensure a situation like this doesn’t happen in the future.
“I don’t mind to tell you I did a lot of praying for the last five to six days and to say we’re thankful, that’s an understatement,” Florida Department of Corrections secretary Michael Cruz said. “These are two hardened, convicted felons and the thought of them being out there in our state caused me great concern.”
Jenkins was released on Sept. 27 from the Franklin Correctional Institution. On Oct. 8, Walker was released from the same facility, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Both releases came as a result of forged documents ordering reduced sentences for the two.
It was not known whether the men — who were serving time for separate crimes — worked together to escape the prison.
The recapture of the two men came just hours after family members of the two held a news conference to plead with them to surrender. Both Jenkins’ and Walker’s family members said they received legitimate phone calls from the jail notifying them of their releases.