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| Officer: Don't Blame Staff in Prison Break |
| By ABCNEWS.com |
| Published: 01/19/2001 |
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A former Texas correctional officer who was held hostage in the breakout of seven inmates last month says the state corrections department wants to scapegoat workers at the penitentiary, rather than taking blame for understaffing. Alejandro Marroquin quit his job on the spot the day the department's report on the incident was released. He told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America that the prison was woefully understaffed and said he struggled against the inmates until a "10-inch blade" was held to his throat. The report, presented January 11 before the criminal justice board in Austin, Texas, said the breakout from the maximum security Connally Unit in Kenedy on Dec. 13 was evidence of a failure in the correctional system and could have been prevented had prison staff not made a series of blunders. The convicts were able to subdue staff at the prison during a 2 1/2-hour ordeal before escaping in a stolen vehicle with weapons collected from overpowered officers, according to the report. The report made several recommendations, including reviewing policies governing inmate movement; revising gate procedures to more specifically address identification rules; and ensuring that vehicles are inside the prison grounds only as long as necessary. Although some are blaming staff shortages for helping the inmates breakout, corrections officials said such problems played an indirect role, if any. The prison's "snitch system," where inmates rat each other out, also failed to help prevent the intricately planned escape. Marroquin attended the news conference but when he was not allowed to ask questions, he threw his security badge at prison officials who were present. A massive manhunt is still under way for the seven men, who are also charged in the Christmas Eve killing of an Irving, Texas, police officer. For Marroquin, putting any blame on the officers for failing to halt the breakout was an injustice, because there were far too few working to deal with the number of inmates present. He said the maintenance room, where there are sometimes as many as 30 inmates, in particular requires more officers, because of the potential weapons and the information about the prison available there. |
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