A former Lima Municipal Court deputy clerk has been granted early release from her prison time after serving six months.
Susan Barnett pled guilty to theft in office and communication fraud back in October, and had been sentenced to three years in prison after stealing thousands of dollars from the city.
Barnett's age and the risk of her being affected by COVID-19 while in prison did play a part in her asking for release.
Barnett was allowed to make a statement before judge reed made his decision: "I’ve really thought about it over the last six months, I went over what I did and why I did it, I didn’t mean to hurt anybody," said Barnett.
Barnett will need to continue to pay back the over $331,000 that she stole while working for the city.
