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Prison inmate wounds guards
By Associated Press
Monday, November 15, 2004
WALPOLE, Mass. -- An inmate serving time for assaulting prison guards in 1997 managed to open his cell door and used a makeshift weapon to wound two guards at the maximum security Cedar Junction state prison, a Massachusetts Department of Correction spokeswoman said Sunday.
The male guards subdued the inmate despite suffering cuts in Saturday night's confrontation, department spokeswoman Diane Wiffin said.
The most seriously injured guard suffered facial wounds, and remained hospitalized yesterday, Wiffin said.
That officer was in danger of losing his sight after being wounded in the eyes, said Steve Kenneway, president of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union.
Another Department of Correction spokeswoman, Kelly Nantel, declined to discuss details of the guard's condition. The other guard was treated at a hospital and released.
The inmate somehow managed to open the door of his cell in the prison's disciplinary unit, leading to the confrontation with the guards, Wiffin said.
Afterward, the inmate was returned to another cell. He was not injured.
Prison staff were investigating how the cell door was opened, and were inspecting all 120 doors in the prison's disciplinary unit as a precaution, Wiffin said.
The Norfolk County District Attorney's office was investigating.
Wiffin declined to identify the wounded guards or the inmate, and she did not say where the guard who remained hospitalized was being treated.
Wiffin said the inmate was convicted of armed robbery in 1988 and sentenced to nine years to 10 years. In 1997, he was ordered to serve another 36 years to 40 years in prison for assaulting two corrections officers at Cedar Junction.
Kenneway, the correction officers' union president, said just 10 officers were on duty in the disciplinary unit at the time of the attack rather than the standard 12, and six of the officers had only recently completed training.
Nantel said prison management review staffing levels at the start of each shift and approve those levels only if they are adequate to ensure security. There is no mandatory minimum staffing level, she said.
Kenneway also said prison guards and management had long been aware of both electronic and physical problems with the cell doors at Cedar Junction that created security risks. While the electronic problem was fixed, the prison did not adequately repair doors so that they cannot be removed from their tracks and forced open, he alleged.
Nantel acknowledged such problems had been identified, but said they had been fixed.
By Associated Press
Monday, November 15, 2004
WALPOLE, Mass. -- An inmate serving time for assaulting prison guards in 1997 managed to open his cell door and used a makeshift weapon to wound two guards at the maximum security Cedar Junction state prison, a Massachusetts Department of Correction spokeswoman said Sunday.
The male guards subdued the inmate despite suffering cuts in Saturday night's confrontation, department spokeswoman Diane Wiffin said.
The most seriously injured guard suffered facial wounds, and remained hospitalized yesterday, Wiffin said.
That officer was in danger of losing his sight after being wounded in the eyes, said Steve Kenneway, president of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union.
Another Department of Correction spokeswoman, Kelly Nantel, declined to discuss details of the guard's condition. The other guard was treated at a hospital and released.
The inmate somehow managed to open the door of his cell in the prison's disciplinary unit, leading to the confrontation with the guards, Wiffin said.
Afterward, the inmate was returned to another cell. He was not injured.
Prison staff were investigating how the cell door was opened, and were inspecting all 120 doors in the prison's disciplinary unit as a precaution, Wiffin said.
The Norfolk County District Attorney's office was investigating.
Wiffin declined to identify the wounded guards or the inmate, and she did not say where the guard who remained hospitalized was being treated.
Wiffin said the inmate was convicted of armed robbery in 1988 and sentenced to nine years to 10 years. In 1997, he was ordered to serve another 36 years to 40 years in prison for assaulting two corrections officers at Cedar Junction.
Kenneway, the correction officers' union president, said just 10 officers were on duty in the disciplinary unit at the time of the attack rather than the standard 12, and six of the officers had only recently completed training.
Nantel said prison management review staffing levels at the start of each shift and approve those levels only if they are adequate to ensure security. There is no mandatory minimum staffing level, she said.
Kenneway also said prison guards and management had long been aware of both electronic and physical problems with the cell doors at Cedar Junction that created security risks. While the electronic problem was fixed, the prison did not adequately repair doors so that they cannot be removed from their tracks and forced open, he alleged.
Nantel acknowledged such problems had been identified, but said they had been fixed.
