Way Beyond Lame

After less than a week of freedom, Sara Jane Olson is on her way back to prison, her release explained as a clerical error:

State corrections officials said they released Olson early because of a "clerical error." They said she must now return to a women's prison in Chowchilla to serve as many as two more years for her role in crimes including the 1975 murder of a Carmichael woman during a bank robbery.

"We understand how sensitive the impact of such an error has on all involved in this case and regret the mistake," said Scott Kernan, chief of adult operations for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, at an afternoon news conference in Sacramento.

I don't believe it for a minute, but let's set that aside for a moment. The choice here is simple - either the Department caved in to the increasing level of political pressure, in which case the re-arrest represents cowardice on a vast scale. Or, Mr. Kernan is actually telling the truth, and Olson's release represents gross incompetence on scale that is breathtaking to behold, in which case Mr. Kernan probably deserves to lose his job.

So which is it, Mr. Kernan? Are you and your department incompetent beyond belief, or are you simply a coward? And by the way, is that incomprehensible quote for real?