Inmate Released Amid Pandemic Killed Someone the Next Day, Officials Say

The inmate, Joseph Edward Williams, 26, was arrested this week and charged with second-degree murder, resisting an officer with violence as well as drug and gun charges, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Williams had been released on March 19 from the Orient Road Jail in Tampa and committed the murder on March 20, the sheriff’s office said.

The case could reignite criticism from some law enforcement officials and prosecutors who have warned that releasing inmates as a public health response to the virus could jeopardize public safety.

Williams had a criminal history that included previous convictions for burglary of an unoccupied conveyance in 2012 and being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2018, according to the sheriff’s office.

But when he was released from jail, he had been issued a $2,500 bond for less serious offenses: possession of heroin, a third-degree felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a first-degree misdemeanor.

As such, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Williams met the criteria outlined in a judicial order that authorized the office to release certain low-level offenders in response to the virus.

“There is no question Joseph Williams took advantage of this health emergency to commit crimes while he was out of jail awaiting resolution of a low-level, nonviolent offense,” said Chad Chronister, the Hillsborough County sheriff.

Williams was the only one of the 164 inmates released from two county jails to have been arrested again, the sheriff’s office said Wednesday.

“Judges, prosecutors and sheriffs around the country are facing difficult decisions during this health crisis with respect to balancing public health and public safety,” Chronister said.

Investigators have released few details about the killing, but have said they “do not believe this was a random act.”

The sheriff’s office said deputies responded on March 20 at about 10:40 p.m. to several 911 calls reporting gunshots in the Progress Village area of Tampa. Once there, they found a man with a gunshot wound and took him to Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Williams was arrested and charged with murder this week.

The Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, which represented Williams, said it did not comment on pending cases. The sheriff’s office said Williams was back in jail without bond.

The order that authorized release of county inmates was issued by Ronald Ficarrotta, the chief judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court. It was one of many actions taken in recent weeks to release thousands of inmates across the country to try to slow the infection, save lives and preserve medical resources.

“It’s certainly a tragedy, one which could not have been foreseen,” Ficarrotta said in an interview Wednesday. “I stand by the order. It was the right thing to do. It’s something we’ve done in the past when we’re facing a hurricane situation.”

Jails, where social distancing is impossible and hand sanitizer is widely banned, have been hard hit by the coronavirus. More than 570 cases attributed to the virus have been reported among employees and inmates of New York City’s 10 jails. And more than 500 cases have been linked to the Cook County Jail in Chicago.

Chronister urged the state attorney to prosecute Williams “to the fullest extent of the law.” The state attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Wednesday evening.

“Every murder,” Chronister said, “every violent crime, especially those involving a gun, is a sickening example of the worst in our community, especially at a time when our community is working relentlessly to fight against the spread of this deadly COVID-19.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times .

Inmate Released Amid Pandemic Killed Someone the Next Day, Officials Say

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