Legislators may consider putting into state law the need for "human verification" when paperwork arrives at a prison indicating the sentence of an inmate has changed.
They also will consider stiffening penalties for people who are involved in creating false court documents, as the state looks for solutions after two convicted murderers, Charles Walker and Joseph Jenkins, used forged documents recently to walk out of Franklin Correctional Institution. They were eventually caught in Panama City.
Meanwhile, corrections officials — as they examine inmate release records to determine if more than just the two convicts faked paperwork to reduce sentences — face questions about how cellphones were used by Walker and Jenkins to plot their escapes.
"The number one security issue facing institutions and departments of corrections is the introduction of cellphones," Corrections Secretary Michael Crews said after appearing before the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday. "It is a significant security issue in our field, but they're everywhere."
Crews said that since Jan. 1, corrections officials have confiscated 4,200 cellphones that had been or were being smuggled into different facilities by individuals ranging from "dirty staff" to family and friends.
"You'd be amazed at how creative people can be and where they're willing to hide a cellphone to get it inside an institution," Crews said. "It is a big-dollar business."
To reduce the chance for a repeat escape using false papers, Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said legislators will explore putting into Florida law a procedure linked to a soon-to-be-enacted "secure e-system" that would require the Department of Corrections to contact the judge who makes any sentencing changes for an inmate.
Similar procedures have already been implemented by local clerks of court and corrections in response to the escapes of Jenkins on Sept. 27 and Walker on Oct. 8.
"That certainly is a positive step and making that black letter law is an appropriate thing to explore as well," Bradley said.
The state expects to begin using the e-system in February to transmit court orders.
Also, the Legislature will consider stiffer penalties for those who assist in the creation of false court documents involving prison sentences, even though Bradley and Crews admitted such charges wouldn't do much to penalize Jenkins and Walker.
Ninth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr., whose signature is believed to have been lifted for the faked orders involving Jenkins and Walker, said the courts and correctional officials are taking reasonable steps to open communications about prisoner release orders.
"We will not be able to stop this 100 percent, but I think we can prevent it 99.9 percent of the time," Perry said.
Perry has issued an order changing procedures for criminal-court documents to try to prevent any other inmates from making similar escapes.
Crews told lawmakers Wednesday that 40 staffers have been reviewing the 9,400 court sentencing orders issued since Jan. 2010.
Of the approximately 7,800 already reviewed, none have been forged, Crews said.
Authorities know of five other attempted escapes using the same method of faked documents, including two that were in process when discovered.
One of the prior attempts was by Jenkins. The attempts occurred at the Franklin Correctional and Gulf Correctional institutions and the Pinellas County Jail.