Corrections leaders defend furlough> Released teen-ager accused of killing boy

AUGUSTA — State corrections officials say the Maine Youth Center acted appropriately in releasing a 17-year-old who has since been accused of killing another boy.

Sochean Ung is charged with shooting Viseth Sun, 12, while the two boys were playing with guns at a Portland apartment on Aug. 13. Ung had been on furlough from the Maine Youth Center since July 24.

“We have completed our review and we did not find anything inappropriate,” said Denise Lord, director of policy for the Maine Department of Corrections.

However, officials at the South Portland facility say they will do a better job of notifying police when they release potentially violent juveniles on furlough.

Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood blasted the center’s furlough program Thursday, but said he was pleased police would be informed about furlough releases in the future. “We have a right to know when they’re coming back out into our communities,” he said.

Chitwood said the Maine Youth Center needs to make some changes. He said the state should tighten the rules for granting furloughs to juveniles sentenced to the youth center. The chief said juveniles like Ung who have committed violent crimes causing bodily injury should not be eligible for early release.

Ung was sentenced to the youth center last year after pleading guilty to a charge of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon. He was involved in a machete attack on a teen-ager in Portland in May 1996.

“This kid was scheduled to be in until November and I still think, because of the seriousness of the crime he committed, he should have been left there” until his sentence ran out, Chitwood said.

Lord said Ung had earned a furlough based on the system the youth center uses, and Ung had proper housing and state supervision at the time of the shooting.

Lord said Ung had enough points to qualify for a furlough. The youth center awards and rescinds points for things such as schooling, counseling and behavior. Earning points is a prerequisite for early release. Also, a so-called “risk assessment” prepared by youth center staffers supported a furlough for Ung, Lord said.

After his release, Ung complied with a “case plan” spelling out housing and supervision rules, Lord said. She said Ung had reported to his probation officer when he was supposed to do so.

Although the Department of Corrections has completed its review of Ung’s furlough, two related in-house investigations continue.

Corrections Commissioner Martin Magnusson said last week that the state will re-examine each furlough now in effect at the center to make sure that all the juveniles granted furloughs are fit to live in the community.