That is not right. If the workflow is completed, then the individual work items inside the workflow, should be completed (or logically deleted) also.
There is one possibility. The work item might be actually completed, but the log is displaying it wrong (I've seen something similar with other WF transactions). Get the work item number, and then check it with SWI1, and see if the status really is still "In process". You can also find the status in SWWWIHEAD table (header table for work items).
Well, you are saying that you are removing old work items. What do you mean by remove?
Regards,
Karri
