Inmate serving 30 years vanishes during work release program, Georgia officials say

An inmate vanished after walking away from a work release program, the Georgia Department of Corrections said.

Melvin Barkley remained at large Tuesday, Feb. 6, after officials said he didn’t return to the Atlanta Transitional Center in Midtown on Feb. 2 following his work shift.

The 36-year-old, of Carrollton, is serving a 30-year-sentence without the possibility of parole after he was accused of stabbing his brother-in-law to death, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Prior to his conviction in that case, during which he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, Barkley was initially found guilty on theft charges and assigned to the transitional center in November, state correctional officials said.

The all-male minimum security facility offers inmates with 3 ½ years or less left on their sentence on-the-job training at “outside details for various state agencies at no cost to taxpayers,” the Georgia DOC website says.

“GDC received the paperwork for the new (voluntary manslaughter) charge on 12/1/23, at which time Barkley should have been removed from the (transitional center) and transported back to state prison,” a department spokesperson told McClatchy News.

The department’s fugitive unit is pursing leads in hopes of finding Barkley, officials said.

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