Prison chief, 11 others placed on leave after escape

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[h=4]Prison chief, 11 others placed on leave after escape[/h]The superintendent and several other officials at a Northern New York prison have been placed on administrative leave, fallout from the escape this month of two killers, according to media reports. Steven

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A host of correctional officers and prison executives — including the superintendent — have been placed on leave from Clinton Correctional facility following the escape of two convicted murderers.


Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y.(Photo: Andrew Burton, Getty Images)


The superintendent and 11 other officials at a northern New York prison have been placed on administrative leave, fallout from the escape this month of two killers.
Steven Racette, the superintendent at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, two other high-level administrators in the prison and nine security officers are on leave "as part of the ongoing review," the state Department of Corrections said in a brief statement Tuesday.
James O'Gorman, assistant commissioner for correctional facilities, will oversee the prison "as the new leadership team transitions this week," the statement said.
Teresa Miller, a University at Buffalo law professor and producer of the prison documentary Four Myths About Attica, told USA TODAY it would be "very unusual" for a prison warden to keep his job after killers escape. She noted that at Clinton, two prison workers face charges of aiding the men.
"Attention should also be paid to the relationships between the prisoners and the staff that gave rise to the collusion," said Miller, who has spent a decade studying maximum- security prisons across New York. "You want a positive-enough relationship with staff so you don't have outright hostility and instances of violence against prisoners, but not so positive that it so crosses the line of professionalism."
The June 6 escape of Richard Matt, 49, and and David Sweat, 35, sparked a massive manhunt that drew up to 1,500 law-enforcement officials to the rugged, rural terrain of northern New York.
Matt was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol officer on Friday. Sweat was shot and captured Sunday by a state trooper near Constable, just miles from the Canadian border. He was initially hospitalized in critical condition, but was upgraded to fair condition Tuesday by officials at Albany Medical Center.
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More than two weeks ago, Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the state's inspector general to conduct a broad investigation into the escape. Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott promised "an expedient and comprehensive investigation into all of the circumstances that led to the escape."
Joyce Mitchell, who worked in the prison tailor shop, was arrested days after the escape, accused of providing the inmates with hacksaw blades and screwdriver bits she hid in frozen ground beef. Mitchell, 51, told authorities she had agreed to meet them outside the prison with a car but that she changed her mind.
Cuomo said Sweat confirmed some of Mitchell's information, telling authorities after his arrest that the duo had expected Mitchell to drive them far from the prison. Mexico was the ultimate goal, Cuomo said Sweat claimed. Mitchell is being held pending trial.
Prison guard Gene Palmer, 53, is also facing charges of doing favors for Matt and Sweat that aided their flight in exchange for artwork and information on other inmates. Palmer, who has denied any knowledge of the escape plan, appeared in court Monday and remains free on bond.
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Recaptured killer: Escapees were headed to Mexico




Palmer faces a maximum sentence of 2 to 7 years if convicted of felony promoting prison contraband and up to 4 years for felony tampering with evidence.
Cuomo did defend the prison's operations to some extent on Monday. He rejected claims that the Clinton Corrections Facility had become a "country club" for inmates.
"This is the prison they were threatening the other inmates in the rest of the system with," he told The Capitol Pressroom in Albany. "If you didn't behave you go to Dannemora. Dannemora had a reputation as the toughest prison in the system. It was no country club."
The bottom line, Miller said, is that the prison will default to a higher level of security to ensure the safety of people outside its walls. She rejects some ideas, such as Implanting chips in inmates. Others, such as improving guidelines for professional interaction between inmates and guards, are better.
"Thoughtful reforms should be considered, while emotional knee jerk reactions should not," Miller said.
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