DENVER—A Colorado parolee charged with killing a lawyer in Lakewood after his release from prison had been freed three years early with a low level of supervision, records show.
The parole board decided to release Warren Watson early based in part on internal assessments that suggested the 52-year-old was a low risk for committing more crimes, even though he had previously escaped from community corrections several times, according to records obtained by KCNC-TV ( ) and reported Thursday.
Parole director Tim Hand said Watson’s criminal history at the time didn’t merit intense parole supervision.
“I think we handled the Warren Watson case the best we could have based on our assessment of the case,” he said in a report
The news came as the Colorado Department of Corrections audits thousands of sentencing records following the discovery that Evan Ebel—the only suspect in the killing of state corrections chief Tom Clements—was released from prison four years early because of a clerical error.
Ebel is also suspected in the death of a pizza deliveryman two days before Clements was shot and killed when he answered his front door.
Ebel died after a shootout with police in north Texas.
In another recent case that raised questions about the parole system, Adams County sheriff’s officials acknowledged Thursday that they mistakenly released a man who should’ve been turned over to the corrections department.
KMGH-TV reported that Juan Flores skipped out on his parole in an assault case, was rearrested in December, and inappropriately released on April 15 after an employee misinterpreted paperwork.
In the Watson case, internal records show that during his last four years in prison, he had not been a problem, but his long-term record shows 10 felony arrests with crimes stretching from Oklahoma to Indiana.
Parole documents show that Watson had escaped from a community corrections program in 1992, walked away from a Colorado penal institution in 1993, violated Colorado parole in 1996 and then again jumped parole in Ohio in 1997.
The records noted that Watson escaped again from community corrections in 2006 and fled to Texas, and escaped community corrections in 2008 and fled to Mississippi.
Two members of the Colorado parole board, who are appointed by the governor, voted to release Watson from prison early on what’s known as a discretionary release.
“He was a risk for running away but not for committing another felony,” said Dr. Anthony Young, chairman of the Parole Board who defended the decision to release Watson early.
Eddie Mae Woolfolk, director of a transitional home for parolees, said Watson never complied with the terms of his release there, but nothing was done about it.
After disappearing from the home, Watson next showed up March 8 when he allegedly told investigators that he made an appointment to meet Claudia Miller at her law office.
He is accused of sexually assaulting and killing Miller and fleeing with her car and credit card. He has been charged with 18 counts, ranging from murder to robbery and sexual assault.
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Information from: KCNC-TV,
