Former Probate Judge Sherrie Phillips, sentenced to three years in prison in October for stealing $1.8 million from a probate estate, is now serving her time in the state Department of Corrections’ Birmingham work release center.

Brian Corbett, the DOC’s public information officer, said Monday that Phillips was transferred to the facility shortly after her October arrival at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka.

“At this point, she is not employed anywhere,” Corbett said. “It’s certain she has some duties inside the facility, like any other inmate and those at Tutwiler or the Montgomery work release center, but she is not employed outside the facility.

“Now, with that said, maybe at some point in the future, she might have gainful employment,” he said. “It’s unknown if and when that might happen.”

Phillips was indicted in June 2008 and was later found guilty of first-degree theft of property and theft by deception and for using her position for personal gain one year later. She was sentenced to a 10-year split sentence — three years in prison, three years of supervised probation and four additional years of unsupervised probation.

According to the DOC’s Web site, Phillips is set for release on Oct. 23, 2012.