Inmate erroneously released captured  

A 36-year-old Key West, Florida man erroneously released from the Stock Island jail on March 12, 2024, due to a clerical error was taken into custody by the Sheriff’s Office Thursday without incident.

Paul Rich Clift was sentenced to 72 months in Florida State Prison on March 12, 2024, for non-violent, drug-related crimes, but the Sheriff’s Office received erroneous information from the Clerk of Court’s Office indicating he should be released.  The Clerk of Court Office corrected the error, but Clift had already been released before the correction was transmitted to the Sheriff’s Office.

Clift was subsequently taken back into custody by the Sheriff’s Office on Conch Key at approximately noon Thursday.

“I want to thank the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office for their quick handling of this incident,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “We are working with the Clerk of Court Office to ensure this error does not occur again.”

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