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| Top two prison officials fired in wake of Ky. uprising |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/20/2001 |
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The warden and his top assistant were fired at a privately operated prison where inmates rioted two weeks ago. William Wolford was fired last week as warden at Otter Creek Correctional Complex in Floyd County because of policy violations, said Steve Owen, a spokesman for Corrections Corp. of America. Wolford's top assistant, David Carroll, was fired a couple of days later for the same reasons, Owen said. Randy Stovall, warden at the company's prison in Brownfield, Texas, has transferred to take over the eastern Kentucky prison. 'Warden Stovall is getting up to speed so he can decide what changes, if any, he needs to make to accommodate for his management style,' Owen said. The changes came after a meeting among Indiana corrections officials and prison company officials to investigate the nine-hour riot, which ended on July 6. Hundreds of medium-security inmates from Indiana detained in the remote mountain prison tossed commodes, televisions and sinks out windows and burned clothes, bedding and mattresses before surrendering. No one was seriously injured, but officials reported extensive damage. No damage estimate is available yet, Owen said. Pam Pattison, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Corrections, said the cause of the riot is still under investigation. She said three inmates identified as prompting the disturbance have been transferred to an Indiana prison in Wabash. 'They're in segregation awaiting a disciplinary hearing,' Pattison said. 'If they are found guilty, sanctions will be imposed.' The riot started during the evening of July 5 with a disturbance in a recreation area and then escalated, spreading to four dormitories, she said. About 75 Kentucky State Police troopers and 15 Floyd County deputies surrounded the prison to prevent escapes. Floyd County Sheriff John K. Blackburn estimated that up to 400 of the prison's 589 inmates participated in the riot. Otter Creek is one of three private prisons in Kentucky that Corrections Corp. of America of Nashville, Tenn., bought in 1998 from U.S. Corrections Corp. of Louisville. It opened in 1993 as a minimum-security facility for Kentucky inmates, but began taking medium-security prisoners from Indiana in January 2000. |
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