Man granted release after 20-year prison term stuck in Santa Clara County custody because of red tape

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The NAACP in San Jose is pushing for the immediate release of a man held in Santa Clara County Jail.

Last week, a judge granted Carlos Harris release from prison after reducing his sentence by five years, saying that he had already served enough time behind bars. 

Harris had been in prison for 20 years for robbery and attempted murder.

It's now been days since he was set to be released, and Harris remains in custody.

Harris told KTVU last week by phone that he was still behind bars.

"I don't know what to do," he said. "I don't know when I'm getting out."

His cousin, Aisha Hampton, is really upset.

"We are just really feeling like he’s being illegally detained at this time," she said. "He should’ve been home last Thursday."

According to a county official, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation still needs to process Harris' release before the county can release him.

They said the CDCR is requesting the original court order from the judge, which Harris’ family believes could take days or longer.

The Santa Clara sheriff told KTVU on Monday that Harris is still in custody because of the CDCR hold.

"By 11:15 a.m. Friday, the Sheriff’s Office learned that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) must process Mr. Harris for release since he is technically in CDCR custody at the Santa Clara County Main Jail," a sheriff's spokesman emailed KTVU. "At 11:30 a.m. It was determined without CDCR dropping its hold, the Sheriff’s Office could not release him from jail."

A spokesperson said the Sheriff's Office asked a judge to amend the court order and bypass the CDCR to expedite Harris' release.

"Despite proactive efforts to expedite the process, all parties were informed by Judge Williams during last Thursday’s hearing that delays for release due to CDCR processing were inevitable but insisted Mr. Harris remain housed at the county jail during this period rather than being returned to CDCR," the sheriff's department said.

The sheriff said without a court order, a conditional release or a permitted release from the CDCR, Harris must remain in custody.