| Glitch freed killer - Error-plagued computer system allowed Snelgrove out of jail |
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| BERLIN --Berlin resident Edwin Snelgrove, who has been arrested for attempted kidnapping and assault charges and who is being investigated in the death of a Hartford woman, would still be in a New Jersey prison if it wasn't for a computer glitch. |
| New Jersey correction officials are saying an inefficient computer system led to the release of Edwin F. Snelgrove after he admitted killing a former girlfriend and attempting to murder another woman in 1988. New Jersey correction officials are required to provide law enforcement officials with a 30-day notice concerning the release of a prisoner to allow them to challenge the release in court. "The notification was given out the day before his release," Chris Carden, New Jersey Department of Corrections spokesman, told The Herald Thursday. "That was unavoidable due to the technology at that time and we have upgraded technology and put into place a number of initiatives to alleviate the problems." Snelgrove is a suspect in the kidnapping and murder of Carmen Rodriguez, 33, of Hartford whose body was found in a wooden area of Hopkinton, R.I. in early January. According to police reports, Snelgrove and Rodriguez were seen together on Sept. 22, the night Rodriguez went missing. Snelgrove has been in custody since Jan. 24 when he was arrested on assault and attempted kidnapping charges in an alleged attack on another Hartford woman in September 2001. The Department of Corrections' computer -- which calculates an inmates release date -- originally showed Snelgrove was not to be released until August of 2001. On May 21, 1999, the computer was checked again and it showed Snelgrove's release date to be May 26, 1999. This gave the department only five days to do all the things needed to release Snelgrove -- a process that usually takes about two weeks. Fred Schwanwede, New Jersey prosecutor said he would have asked for Snelgrove's civil commitment if he received proper notification Snelgrove was being released. Schwanwede told The Herald he had written a letter to the parole asking the board not to give Snelgrove parole and "before we knew it, he had been released." In that letter to the parole board, Schwanwede calls Snelgrove "the most dangerous defendant he had ever prosecuted." "I believe that whenever he is released, even at the end of his 20-year maximum sentence, he will present a grave danger of taking another human life," Schwanwede also said in the letter. But, Snelgrove did not pursue parole, instead deciding to serve his sentence. Snelgrove was released after 11 years of a 20-year sentence due to being a model inmate and having a 150-day credit for time spent in jail during his trial. By not pursuing parole, Snelgrove was able to avoid psychological screening which is mandatory for all inmates who are up for parole. Also, Snelgrove had not been treated as a sex offender, although admitting his crimes were sexually motivated. Because of this, Snelgrove was not given extensive psychological treatment. "It is important to note that the Department of Corrections, during pre-sentence recommended he be committed to a sex-offender facility where he would have received sex offender treatment," Carden added. "For some reason that had been denied." New Jersey state law allows further confinement of sex offenders after they complete their prison terms if they are deemed a danger to society. In a letter to Judge James Madden, who had sentenced Snelgrove for the two new Jersey crimes, Snelgrove wrote that, "I kidded myself not once, but twice, that I didn't need help. I do." Snelgrove also admits in the letter that "both incidents occurred because of a strong sexual arousement I have had since I was in grade school." In the same letter Snelgrove describes how he and former girlfriend Kim Osmun were rolling around on a bed when they had fallen off the bed and his feeling to choke her took over. "I remember at this point not being able to breathe too well and my hands just wrapped themselves around the bottom of her throat," Snelgrove said in the letter. "It was like one continuousmotion with my hands just ending up in her throat as her feet were still coming off the bed. I remember thinking I am actually doing it this time. I can't describe the feeling I had as I felt her throat in my hands ... I can feel that adrenaline racing through my heart, hands and legs just thinking about it." He later tells the judge in the letter that "these feelings are so strong that they get in the way of logic." Madden, who court officials said has been retired for many years, was unavailable for comment. Carden said besides the upgrade of New Jersey computers, there is now a central office notification unit to notify officials of releases and a meeting with prosecutors on a quarterly basis to discuss prisoners. |
| ©The Herald 2002 |
New Britain Herald
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