Pubdate: Tue, 29 Nov 2005
Source: Des Moines Register (IA)
Copyright: 2005 The Des Moines Register.
Contact:  http://desmoinesregister.com/index.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/123
Author: William Petroski, Register Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

VILSACK: MANY FACTORS ALLOWED ESCAPE

The Governor Blames Inaction On The Job For The Recent Breach At Fort Madison

Three guard towers that were vacant when two convicts escaped from 
the Fort Madison prison are now being staffed, although Gov. Tom 
Vilsack maintains other factors caused the security breach.

A series of security failures by employees inside and outside of the 
maximum-security unit at the Iowa State Penitentiary permitted the 
inmates to flee two weeks ago, Vilsack told reporters Monday. Guard 
towers left vacant due to cost-efficiency efforts weren't an issue, he said.

"This is not about budget cuts. This is not about processes or 
policies. This is about someone not doing their job," Vilsack said.

Vilsack aide Jennifer Mullin said after the governor's news 
conference that three guard towers that had been vacant are now 
staffed. The changes were made as a result of "adjustments to staff 
rotations and staff assignments," Mullin said.

The Fort Madison penitentiary has 11 guard towers. Staffing was 
reduced at an unspecified number of towers after Vilsack proposed a 
cost-efficiency plan three years ago that was approved by the 
Legislature. Prison union leaders opposed the plan, contending it 
would endanger public safety, although it was accompanied by a new 
high-tech security system.

Martin Shane Moon, 34, serving a life sentence for murder in Clarke 
County, and Robert Joseph Legendre, 27, serving life for attempted 
murder and kidnapping in the state of Nevada, escaped on Nov. 14. The 
two men used a handcrafted rope and an improvised grappling hook to 
scale a 30-foot wall in the prison's southwest corner, where a guard 
tower was empty at the time. Moon was recaptured in Illinois, and 
Legendre was arrested in Missouri.

State Sen. Eugene Fraise, a Fort Madison Democrat, said Monday that 
he strongly supports full staffing of the Fort Madison towers. "In my 
opinion, the tower is a backup. If someone had been in that tower, 
the chances of someone escaping would have been very unlikely," he said.

All 11 towers that surround the maximum-security unit at Fort Madison 
are now staffed daily at least until sunset, when there is no 
activity in the prison yard, said Fred Scaletta, a spokesman for the 
Iowa Department of Corrections. The tower that was vacant when the 
escape occurred is now being staffed around the clock, he said.

The governor cited a host of factors he believes led to the escape:

* A supervisor for Iowa Prison Industries was supposed to be on the 
shop floor, counting inmates and keeping track of them. Instead, the 
supervisor was in an office. At the end of the shift, the prisoners 
were supposed to be counted, but they weren't, the governor said. The 
two who escaped were part of a prison industries crew, working on a 
shift that ended at 6 p.m.

* Iowa Prison Industries needs to have occasional shakedowns so 
supplies that can be used to fashion weapons or escape tools can be 
detected. This was not done as frequently as needed, Vilsack said. 
The improvised rope came from upholstery webbing, while the grappling 
hook was made from a piece of pipe.

* The two inmates went down four flights of stairs inside the prison, 
but they were not noticed despite cameras that cover the stairwell, 
the governor said.

* When the inmates got into the prison yard, an officer who was in a 
nearby guard tower was not positioned in a manner that would have 
allowed the officer to observe the entire grounds, Vilsack said. The 
officer was positioned to monitor only a narrow area of the prison, he said.

* A prison officer conducts a patrol in a vehicle around the 
penitentiary 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But the mobile 
officer did not observe the rope thrown by the inmates over the 
prison wall. In fact, the officer did not observe the rope until it 
was pointed out to him, Vilsack said.

The decision by Iowa officials to reduce staffing at the Fort Madison 
prison towers and to use more high-tech security is a common practice 
seen in other state prison systems nationwide, said Randy Corcoran, a 
program specialist at the National Institute of Corrections in Washington, D.C.

"There is no national standard. Some prisons are even being built 
without towers. They are more reliant upon cameras and other 
perimeter security systems that they say are better," Corcoran said.

There is an incentive to reduce the number of tower officers because 
of the expense, which can total $250,000 annually to staff one tower 
24 hours a day, seven days a week, he said.

The Iowa Department of Corrections has brought in experts to review 
security at the Iowa State Penitentiary to prevent such incidents 
from happening again, Vilsack said. Fort Madison Warden Ken Burger 
resigned last week. He has been replaced by Warden John Ault, who had 
been at the Anamosa State Penitentiary.

Meanwhile, a lockdown imposed at the Fort Madison prison after the 
escapes will be gradually phased out, although it could take a couple 
of months, said Mullin, the aide to the governor.

A lockdown means that inmates are confined to their cells and that 
normal prison activities are suspended.

The lockdown is creating tremendous stress on the penitentiary staff 
and inmates, said Jean Basinger of Des Moines, who is active in 
prison-reform groups.

"We are very worried about this situation," Basinger said.

The Iowa Board of Corrections plans to meet Friday in Fort Madison to 
discuss whether the state needs to construct a new maximum-security 
prison. Vilsack has given the board 30 days to make a recommendation.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman