Texas Escapee Report Blames Prison Staff
Jan. 11 -- A breakdown in the prison system allowed the convicts now known as the "Texas Seven" to subdue prison staff during a 2 1/2-hour ordeal before escaping in a stolen vehicle with weapons collected from overpowered guards, according to a state report issued today.
A massive manhunt is still under way for the offenders who broke out of the state's maximum security Connally Unit in Kenedy, Texas, southeast of San Antonio on Dec. 13. The seven are charged in the Christmas Eve killing of an Irving, Texas, police officer and remain at large.
The breakout is evidence of a failure in the correctional system and could have been prevented had prison staff not made a series of blunders, said a report presented today before the criminal justice board in Austin.
"The system has failed," said Gary Johnson, state director for the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "It is our responsibility to discover how and why this failure occurred and to take corrective action."
The report made several recommendations, including reviewingpolicies governing inmate movement; revising gate procedures tomore specifically address identification rules; and ensuring thatvehicles are inside the prison grounds only as long as necessary.
Connally warden Johnson Tim Keith is "a good warden," Johnson said, but acknowledged he may face disciplinary action. Although some are blaming staff shortages for helping the inmates breakout, Johnson said such problems played an indirect role, if any. Johnson also said the prison's "snitch system," where inmatesrat each other out, also failed to help prevent the intricately planned escape.
Alejandro Marroquin, a guard taken hostage during the escape, was not allowed to ask questions during today's news conference and threw his security badge at prison officials who were present.Prison leaders are "scapegoating" someemployees, Marroquin said.
Opportunities Lost
In today's report, Johnson described in detail how the inmates used homemade weapons and cunning to overpower 11 prison employees and three fellow inmates, taking them hostage. The convicts bound their victims with duct tape, plastic ties and pillowcases and held them in the maintenance department before completing their escape, the report says.
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