Posted on 11/23/2005 9:47:42 PM PST by SmithL
A Tennessee prison warden on Wednesday fired a guard who loaned the use of his personal cell phone to George Hyatte three weeks before the prisoner and his wife mounted a bloody escape in Roane County.
Randall Ridenour lost his job at the Brushy Mountain Correctional Institution because he allowed Hyatte to use the phone twice while taking him to and from a court appearance in Kingston on July 18.
On Aug. 9, authorities allege Jennifer Hyatte killed correction officer Wayne "Cotton" Morgan during a shootout at the Roane County Courthouse and fled with her husband to Ohio, where they were captured the next day.
According to a statement issued by the Tennessee Department of Correction, Ridenour violated the agency's ban on personal relationships between employees and offenders. He is also being charged with conduct unbecoming of a state employee.
Ridenour didn't dispute the allegations and attempted to resign his position, writing in a Nov. 18 letter to Brushy Mountain's acting warden that he had no choice but to quit.
"Although I acknowledge that I violated Department of Correction policy, I deny that I ever violated the law nor did I intend for any of my actions to aid anyone else in violating the law," Ridenour wrote.
He also apologized "for any embarrassment that my actions have caused you and everyone within our department."
Acting Warden Jim Worthington, however, refused to accept the resignation and moved forward with the disciplinary process that resulted in the firing.
"Due to the severity of the charges against officer Ridenour, the warden did not accept the letter of resignation," Department of Correction spokeswoman Amanda Sluss said in a telephone interview.
Prison officials announced the firing after a closed administrative hearing Wednesday morning at Brushy Mountain in Morgan County. Ridenour didn't make an appearance at the hearing.
Worthington placed Ridenour on administrative leave last week. Sluss said any information collected during an internal affairs investigation would be turned over to prosecutors in Morgan's slaying.
Citing the ongoing probe, Sluss declined to comment further on the incident.
"I've released all the information that I can," she said.
Ridenour's attorney, Pat Cooley, also declined to comment Wednesday when asked about the incident.
Ridenour had been disciplined once before during his seven-year career at Brushy Mountain, Sluss said. Correction officials suspended Ridenour for three days in April 2000 for leaving his maximum-security post without waiting to be relieved.
District Attorney General Scott McCluen is seeking the death penalty for both George and Jennifer Hyatte, who are scheduled for separate first-degree murder trials next year. The Hyattes are being held in separate Nashville prisons
Good, he's an idiot.
Just damn.
I've been watching this in the press over the last week
Prison rules are in place for obvious reasons
That this idiot can't see this, makes it clear,
That he should never be given a security job again
How much do you think it cost them to follow-through with the disciplinary action instead of letting him off the hook with a resignation?
Oh, I agree. I'm also certain that if it happened in California, the Union would have the case tied up for years.
Guard Union - Different than Police Union.
Happy hunting tonight
Signing out
And Happy Thanksgiving!
"Guard Union - Different than Police Union."
Not always. Depends on the state. And I presume you mean Corrections Officer union, I've never heard of a "Guard Union".
I was referring to California, and you're probably right about the title. I was using simple descriptive terms instead of actual titles.
Sadly this type of stupid, idiotic, and sometimes even dangerous behavior is pretty routine at many prisons. I work at the Nebraska State Pen and it's scary some of the people that come in wearing uniform are worse then many of the inmates.
"I was referring to California, and you're probably right about the title. I was using simple descriptive terms instead of actual titles."
That's cool. I was just pointing that out because most of the Corrections Officers I work with get highly offended when someone refers to them as a "Guard", which is why I jokingly refer to them as that all the time. Lol.
Funny I think he should have been charged with conspiracty to commit murder and aiding&abetting a convicted felon.
The felony murder doctrine should also apply on his sorry ass. Firing is far too lenient, he must be on the HBO Program and a victim as well.
Justice should be one size only,
NSNR-WNA
I'm certain you are wrong.
I'd be delighted to be wrong in this case. I'd be even more delighted to not find out for sure.
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