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| Judge: N.C. Wrong to Fire Prison Officer for Strip Search |
| By Associated Press/Charlotte Observer |
| Published: 12/03/2002 |
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A prison officer who oversaw the strip search of a teenage girl visiting the facility should not have been fired and must be rehired with back pay, an administrative law judge has ruled. Judge Fred Morrison found that Chineta Williams' actions at the Fountain Correctional Center in Rocky Mount did not rise to the level of a dismissible offense. A written reprimand would be sufficient, he said. The Department of Correction can appeal Morrison's decision to the State Personnel Office. Williams was 'absolutely ecstatic' with the ruling, said David Schiller, her Cary lawyer. 'The whole thing was unfortunate, but what really happened wasn't enough for just cause' to fire her, he said. In October 2001, Milton Carroll of Franklinton asked Jimmy Horton, Fountain's superintendent, to take his rebellious 14-year-old daughter on a tour of the women's facility. Horton agreed. Williams, a sergeant in the prison officer with 11 years of state service, was assigned to conduct the tour, although she had never done that before. Accompanying her was Regina Cobb, an officer under Williams' command. Morrison found in his ruling last week that the girl's father told Williams and Cobb 'that his daughter (should) be treated like a new admission to the prison, which included a `strip search,' shower and change into prison garb.' Cobb conducted the search, with Williams overseeing. Another prison official, apparently unaware of the father's request to the officers, reported the matter to Horton, who fired Williams in December 2001. Cobb, who received a reprimand, was allowed to keep her job. Williams sued for reinstatement in the Office of Administrative Hearings, and Morrison held a hearing in October 2002. In his ruling, Morrison noted that in her 11 years with the state, Williams had received 'very good evaluations' and a promotion to sergeant. Since she had not received warnings for unsatisfactory performance, nor had she engaged in unacceptable personal conduct, Morrison wrote, the state could not fire her. Williams was not given instructions in giving the 14-year-old girl the tour, and she was trying to help the girl's father 'to bring about a change in the daughter's negative behavior and prevent her from becoming and actual inmate in the future.' Carroll testified on Williams' behalf at the administrative hearing and pronounced himself 'completely satisfied with the manner in which the tour, including the `search,' was conducted,' Morrison wrote. |
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There is a lot of information on this website about inmates and prison guards. I didn’t realize what was going on in our prison system until I discovered this website. Similarly, I didn’t understand litigation finance until I read more from Hamilton Lindley who is a litigation finance expert based in Texas.