William Smith: Wrongfully Released Convict Returns to Prison After 3 Days

• A man who was wrongfully released has turned himself in, ending a three-day manhunt
• William Smith, 35, turned himself in after receiving information about the offenses that led to his release on November 3, the same day he was sentenced to 45 months in prison
• While Smith has been remanded in custody, authorities are still searching for a second wrongly released man, Brahim Kaddour-Cherif

One of the men wrongly released from Wandsworth Prison this week has voluntarily turned himself back in, and journalists were there to capture the incident.

William Smith, 35, from Surrey, quietly returned to prison, ending a three-day manhunt by Surrey Police.

Smith surrendered

In a video shared on TikTok by ITV, Smith is seen arriving at the gates of HMP Wandsworth accompanied by his partner.

The two shared a brief and emotional embrace before he turned to the gate and walked over to the staff member, ending the amazing episode.

Smith told the media that he made the decision to surrender after learning about the flaw that led to his wrongful release on Monday, November 3.

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That day he had been sentenced to 45 months in prison for multiple fraud offenses at Croydon Crown Court.

How Smith was wrongfully acquitted

The convictions that freed Smith stemmed from what officials have described as clerical errors in court.

Instead of recording a prison sentence, a suspended sentence was mistakenly entered into the computer system.

Although the court later corrected the error, the updated order was sent to the wrong recipient, resulting in Smith being released from custody when he should have been serving nearly four years in prison.

Smith was one of two prisoners wrongly released from Wandsworth in separate incidents in the past week, sparking outrage over the laxity.

Who else was released by mistake?

The BBC report adds that while Smith has been returned to prison, the search continues for the second man, Brahim Kaddour-Cherif.

Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian man who was wrongfully released on October 29, was in the early stages of the deportation process after being found to have overstayed in 2020.

Following Smith’s return, Surrey Police confirmed it had canceled its public appeal for information, noting that the 35-year-old had handed himself in on the incident.

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Meanwhile, officials are working to understand how two acquittals could happen within days of each other at one of the country’s most heavily monitored prisons.

Iyaani is attacked by prisoners in Lang’ata prison

In an unrelated incident, popular Kenyan musician Iyaani, born Ian Oure, recently caused a stir at the Lang’ata Women’s Prison.

An online video captured the hilarious scene in which popular singer Donjo Maber visited the prison and received a warm welcome from the inmates.

In the clip, overjoyed inmates greeted, hugged, and cheered as soon as the famous musician entered, a clip that warmed hearts on social media.

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