A Uniontown man delivered to the Marengo County Detention Center was supposed to finish part of his prison sentence in the Linden jail.

Instead, Curtis Lewis, 23, of Uniontown, discovered that Marengo County was the land of the free.

What was supposed to be the latter half of a prison sentence in the Marengo Jail turned out to be an early release from prison for Curtis.

Too bad for the suspect, Curtis broke a traffic law in Selma around 4 a.m. on Monday and during a standard check, a Selma Police Officer discovered that Lewis wasn’t even supposed to be out of jail.

During the course of the traffic stop, Gallion discovered that Lewis was wanted by the Alabama Department of Corrections. He was arrested and brought to the Dallas County Jail, where he remains until transferred to correctionsauthorities.

Brian Corbett, public information officer with the Alabama Department of Corrections, said Lewis received two four-year sentences in Hale County on March 3, 2003, for theft of property first-degree and burglary third-degree.

The sentences were to run concurrently.

Law enforcement authorities then brought Lewis to Marengo County on April 2, 2003.

According to Marengo County Sheriff Jesse Langley, authorities transferred Lewis because he faced a burglary third-degree charge in Marengo County.

Authorities there released Lewis after he posted $2,500 bond on the burglary charge.

Lewis was brought back into custody Monday by the Selma Police Department.

Corbett noted that he wasn’t sure if Lewis was ever in the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections.