'Thriving' personal trainer freed from prison after 20 years thrown back in after release date error

Published: 00:31, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 00:31, 20 July 2026 A man who waited 20 years to be set free from prison was finally released and was making strides towards living an honest life before he was thrown back in jail due to a miscalculation. Billy Hailey was incarcerated at the Colorado Department of Corrections for decades until he was released to a community corrections program in Fort Collins in 2024, according to CBS News. Hailey took steps to reintegrate into society and documented much of his progress on his Instagram weekly. After nine months of working as a personal trainer, owning his own car, and building up his credit score, his freedom was snatched away once again in May of 2025 after the Colorado Department of Corrections re-arrested him. Officials from the Department of Corrections said his sentence was miscalculated and Hailey had been released three-and-a-half years early. 'It crushed me,' Hailey told CBS Colorado during a phone call from the Sterling Correctional Facility. 'It was hard to believe.' 'At the end of the day, I'm not the only one this had happened to,' he added. A total of 20 other prisoners released into community corrections programs had time added back to their sentences following an audit by the Department of Corrections. Billy Hailey was incarcerated at the Colorado Department of Corrections for 20 years after he was found guilty on two counts of felony assault, according to CBS News Hailey was released to a community corrections program in Fort Collins in 2024 and made serious progress to reintegrate to society. He worked as a personal trainer before he was re-arrested  CDOC spokesperson Alondra Gonzalez-Garcia told CBS News: 'In some cases the review process identified time that had been credited in error under Colorado law.' While affected individuals may view these corrections as the loss of previously awarded time, the adjustments are not disciplinary in nature. Rather, they reflect a determination that the credit was incorrectly applied and must be corrected to ensure compliance with the law and the sentence imposed by the court.' The spokesperson added that while they recognize that the corrections can have an impact on affected individuals, their responsibility is to ensure that all sentence calculations are lawful and consistently applied. Hailey, who thought he was days away from parole before being placed back behind bars, holds no resentment towards the DOC. 'I actually don't feel any anger towards DOC. There's no one to be angry at. Their stance is this was a miscalculation,' he told the outlet. 'All I can do is make the choices moving forward that continue to lead me to healthy rehabilitation and healthy choices, and I'm committed to doing that.' A Fort Morgan newspaper report from October 2009, cited by CBS, noted that Hailey was sentenced to 45 years in prison after choking a woman and using a knife during the assault. He was found guilty on two counts of felony assault but acquitted on several other charges, according to court records. Officials from the Colorado Department of Corrections said his sentence was miscalculated and Hailey had been released three and a half years too early Hailey’s new parole date is in 2028, and when the date comes, he hopes to pick up where he left off 'I lost self-control and caused physical harm to another person,' Hailey said. 'I've made poor choices in my past, and part of accountability is facing that. I've spent the last almost 20 years working on who I used to be, so that's not something that happens again.' Hailey has garnered support from State Senator Cathy Kipp, his employer, and others to help reduce his sentence. According to the outlet, his supporters met with two representatives of the governor's office on June 23. Hailey’s new parole date is in 2028, and when the date comes, he hopes to pick up where he left off.