Two convicted murderers walked out of Florida prisons in late September and early October thanks to fake release papers. The incidents launched a statewide check for other attempted escapes using forged release documents, and an investigation into why the papers weren't authenticated. The two men were convicted for separate murders in 1998 and 1999, but documents filed in their cases included forged signatures from the prosecutor's office and the sentencing judge. The judge said that the documents should have raised red flags, since it was rare for judges to order a sentence reduction and even rarer for prosecutors to request it.
