Gregory described segregation as restricted status requiring separation of an inmate from the general population and placement on a special confinement housing.
Morris, 21, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and other counts in the slaying of Roxbury Correctional Institution Officer Jeffery Alan Wroten. Wroten, 44, died Jan. 27, 2006, a day after he was shot in the face in a Washington County Hospital room where he was guarding Morris.
Documents obtained by The Herald-Mail show that Morris was placed on disciplinary segregation on Jan. 26, 2006, and that the segregation ended June 29.
The documents are in error, and Morris still is on disciplinary segregation, DOC spokeswoman Priscilla Doggett said.
News that Morris' punishment had been reduced - due to a clerical error or not - hit a "raw nerve" among correctional employees, said Larry Kump, president of the Maryland Classified Employees Association (MCEA) Public Safety Non-Custody Employees Chapter.
"It was all over every institution, not just RCI," Kump said.
Employees feel that reducing a punishment sends the wrong message to inmates, he said.
Morris' trial likely will start in early November in Howard County Circuit Court. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if Morris is convicted on any of the first-degree murder counts.
The trial originally was scheduled to begin June 11, but was delayed after an unrestrained Morris tried to run toward the door of the courtroom during jury selection on May 31. The courtroom escape attempt caused a melee that left two prospective jurors and two sheriff's deputies slightly injured.
