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| Inmates often not charged for crimes committed inside prison |
| By WAVE |
| Published: 03/01/2004 |
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Thousands of inmates are in state prisons in Oldham County (Ky.) and although they are behind bars they still pose a danger. In fact, many inmates have assaulted officers but have never faced criminal charges for the crime. WAVE 3 Investigator James Zambroski has more. In 2003, Oldham County corrections officers were assaulted 35 times, according to state records. In every case but one, the inmate was not charged with a crime. Larry Chandler is the warden at the Kentucky State Reformatory in La Grange, Ky. He says prisoners who commit crimes are often dealt with internally. "We do have due process hearing, an administrative hearing in the institution. It determines guilt or innocence and determines the penalty imposed." Four inmates were charged with seven counts of aggravated assault, but none faced a judge or jury, because corrections doctors judged them mentally incompetent or the proceedings were simply kept in-house. "At the penalty phase of that hearing, it's decided whether the inmate is competent to be referred to the outside court, and that's done by our mental health professionals," Chandler said. Three other inmates were charged with six counts of simple assault, but likewise were never prosecuted. But they were punished, Warden Chandler said, with the loss of time off for good behavior, or privileges. The determination of incompetence rankles Wanda Mitchell-Smith, a labor union official representing corrections officers at the prisons. "They need to deal with those inmates, taking them to the next level of prosecution. If they have done a crime while they're inside serving time, then they should be prosecuted." |
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