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| Security Errors Aided Two Escapes |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 01/02/2006 |
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Numerous mistakes leading to a security breakdown that allowed two inmates to escape from the Iowa State Penitentiary last month were recounted in a report issued last week. A third inmate also planned to escape, but changed his mind, according to the 30-page report by the Iowa Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General. Inmates Robert Legendre and Martin Moon escaped from the Fort Madison prison on Nov. 14 by using a homemade rope and grappling hook to climb over a 40-foot wall. Both were caught later that week. Moon was arrested near Chester, Ill., and returned to the prison. Legendre was caught at a truck stop in Steele, Mo. He remains in a St. Louis jail, charged with assaulting two cab drivers. Among the mistakes tallied in the inspector general's report: Prison Industries supervisors failed conduct a proper head count the evening of the escape and failed to pat down inmates as they left. Moon and Legendre were able to hide materials used in the escape -- a homemade grappling hook and rope made from upholstery webbing -- on their bodies and within the Prison Industries building. The two were able to smuggle food, bottled water and first aid items into the building. Because officers in the control room were occupied with too many duties, they failed to spot Moon and Legendre on a security camera monitoring a stairway in the Prison Industries building. An officer in a tower failed to notice the grappling hook tossed over a railing on the exterior prison wall and failed to spot Moon and Legendre as they climbed across to the wall. A perimeter officer failed to notice the 35-foot rope hanging from the outside wall, despite driving past it several times, and failed to use a spotlight issued to him to view the wall after dark. The report also noted that the officer tower in the southwest corner of the prison yard, meant to monitor inmates at Prison Industries, was unstaffed at 3 p.m. while the work continued until 6:25 p.m. Following the escapes, Gov. Tom Vilsack reassigned warden Ken Burger and brought in John Ault, who had been warden at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. Vilsack disciplined seven employees and ordered an outside audit of the prison system. He also asked the Iowa Board of Corrections to study the future of the maximum-security prison. The National Institute of Corrections plans to send inspectors next month to assess the prison's staffing patterns and security. The institute will release a report within 30 days of the assessment, and prison personnel will work to address the recommendations, she said. |
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