A Covington County judge has denied a motion for early release for the former Andalusia Middle School teacher who pled guilty to sodomizing two teens in 2011.

Amy Kathleen Caudle, who was employed as a special education teacher at the time of the incidents, is now serving a split 15-year sentence – three years in jail and 12 years on probation – after pleading guilty last June to two counts of sodomy for performing oral sex on two different victims. Each incident was in her vehicle at the time.

Nearly a year after her sentencing, Caudle petitioned the court to reconsider her split sentence and asked for an early release. The petition stated that as of July, Caudle had served 40 percent of her sentence.

The petition described Caudle, while incarcerated, as “a model inmate with no disciplinary problems whatsoever,” who maintained state employment, enrolled in trade school, completed voluntary certificate programs and participated in counseling.

The request cited prison overcrowding as another basis for Caudle’s early release.

“At a cost of $41.42 per day, the cost to incarcerate an inmate…it is in the best interest of the state, the public and (Caudle) that she…be released as soon as possible,” the order read. “Mrs. Caudle’s incarceration has served the twin purposes of punishment and deterrence. She has been punished and rehabilitated, and has taken (the) court’s orders to heart by accepting her punishment, facing her shortcomings and overcoming her problems and issues.”

However, presiding Circuit Court Judge Ashley M. McKathan disagreed, denying Caudle’s request on Aug. 13.

Caudle is currently incarcerated at Tutwiler Prison for Women and is sheduled to be released on April 27, 2014.