Inmate apologizes after mistaken release

HOUSTON, July 20 (UPI) -- A Texas inmate who apologized to his victim after being released by mistake is back behind bars and faces 16 more years inside.

Willie Joe McAdams was caught Thursday during a traffic stop in Houston, a spokeswoman for the Department of Criminal Justice said. His house had been under surveillance for several hours.

McAdams was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2004 for attempted murder.

Cedric Thomas, the man McAdams was convicted of attacking, lost the sight of one eye when he was shot in 2003 in a sports bar.

Thomas told the Houston Chronicle he was surprised when McAdams came up to him in a bar on July 4, shook his hand and apologized for the shooting. He said he hadn't realized that McAdams had been free for about two months.

"What if he still had malice in his heart and wanted to kill me?" he asked the newspaper.

Michelle Lyons, the criminal justice spokeswoman, said McAdams was released because a data entry clerk keyed in the wrong information. She said he will be eligible for parole in another 16 years.