Henry County struggles to release inmates due to system issue

Man upset after systems issue keeps him in jail

An East Point man was frustrated after being held at the Henry County jail after posting bond for a misdemeanor. The 41-year-old was elated after finally being released from the Henry County jail Tuesday afternoon. Officials from the state and Henry County said systems issues slowed the county down when processing people for release.

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. - An East Point man was frustrated after being held at the Henry County jail after posting bond for a misdemeanor. 

A statewide problem with the Georgia Crime Information Center led to slow releases at the Henry County jail, officials said.

What they're saying:

The man's family called FOX 5 after he was having problems getting released on bond, even though the bond had been paid. 

"Felt like my heart a 1000-pound relief on my heart was lifted," Marquez Dorsey said.

The 41-year-old was elated after finally being released from the Henry County jail Tuesday afternoon. Dorsey was arrested for driving on a suspended license Sunday morning on his way to work. 

The offense is a traffic citation for many, but Dorsey ended up in the Henry County jail for two nights AFTER his wife posted his $125 bond. 

They just threw us in the sale together, 10 people that had different charges and what not it was a fight in there. It really wasn't safe to me," Dorsey said. 

Dorsey was released Tuesday afternoon after FOX 5 started making calls. 

"The Service-how they treat us. They didn't give me any underwear, socks, T-shirts. I had to wear my own," the 41-year-old said.

Dorsey has advice for the rest of us to ensure we don't end up like he did.

"Make sure you don't have any tickets, no Warren or any Miss. Anything you need to take care of your business. Just take care of your business. Don't even risk it," the forklift operator said. 

The other side:

Henry County Sheriff officials said they must run a GCIC check on everyone to determine if they have outstanding warrants or holds in other jurisdictions. They learned that ASIS was down and GCIC was experiencing intermittent outages. As a result, the release process was delayed on both Sunday and Monday. This, they say, was a statewide issue.

The GBI confirmed the GCIC has been experiencing issues related to processing criminal transactions. The problems originated with the automated fingerprint identification system (Avis) and began on Saturday, July 19.

Additionally, Henry County officials told FOX 5 that Dorsey was already on a list to be released before receiving a call from FOX 5 Atlanta about his status and it was coincidental that we called to check on his release. 

What's next:

Currently, the AFIS vendor is working on a resolution. GCIC encourages local agencies to have an alternative process available if operational issues arise.