Embodiments of the present invention provide techniques for detecting and correcting encoded data. In one embodiment, a system for detecting and correcting errors in a plurality of data bits comprises a static memory configured to store a plurality of data bits; a systematic encoder configured to convert the plurality of data bits into a codeword; a systematic parity check encoder configured to convert the codeword into a syndrome; and a syndrome decoder configured to evaluate the syndrome based on preset criteria used to determine whether the syndrome corresponds to an uncorrectable error. A binary [16, 8, 5] code is used to encode the plurality of data bits.