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| State blasts operator in prison riot |
| By Denver Post |
| Published: 10/18/2004 |
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Officials at a privately run prison in Olney Springs, Colo. failed to act on three reports that an inmate disturbance was imminent, ignored orders to deploy tear gas once a riot broke out and had inadequate staff to quell the melee involving up to 500 prisoners, a state report says. As a result several staff members, including a female librarian and two officers who locked themselves in a segregation cell, were left in harm's way when the riot at the Crowley County Correctional Facility broke out on July 20, says the 179-page report released last Tuesday by the Colorado Department of Corrections. Furthermore, inmates broke into case files of prisoners to discover which ones were sex offenders and informants. One inmate was nearly beaten to death at the prison run by Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA. Inmates used weights to crush locks, electronic control panels, porcelain toilets and sprinkler systems. They burned microwaves, a greenhouse, vending machines and washers and dryers, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. "The report clearly indicates breakdowns in the basic operations of the facility," Department of Corrections spokeswoman Alison Morgan said last Tuesday. It also criticizes the department's supervisory role, saying its monitors lack the clout they need to demand changes and improvements. |
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