Killer Cavalcante’s high-profile escape from a Pennsylvania prison last month was the state’s fifth this year — which appears to indicate a larger problem with security at its prison, experts warn.
Cavalcante scaled a wall at the Chester County Jail and slipped through razor wire, echoing other inmates’ previous escape methods from the facility.
Meanwhile, an inmate in Warren County used a sheet rope to escape from a building, while two other jailbirds escaped through a hole in a recreation area at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Facility.
Facilities like the Chester County Jail — which, despite its title, is actually a prison — often fall short of state and federal institutional standards, Don Hummer, an associate professor of criminal justice told CNN.
“[Prisons] more to a rigid organizational culture in terms of the way facilities are run, [while jails] different from district to district,” he explained.
“Clearly [too relaxed] if they have five escapes since May. They shouldn’t run away. There must be some type of issue that they’re not dealing with,” former San Quentin Prison Deputy Warden Daniel B. Vasquez told The Post.
Before Cavalcante’s escape, the facility’s most high-profile escapee was Igor Bolte, now 30, who managed to escape from the facility twice: once for a few hours in July 2019, and again last May, according to the New York Times.
Danelo Cavalcante was arrested Wednesday morning.twitter@policyscoop
Bolte, who is serving a sentence for a probation violation, told police after the spring incident he was able to climb a wall in the prison’s exercise area by crab walking — putting his foot on one wall and his hands on the other, CNN said, citing court documents.
The investigation will investigate whether Bolte, who is serving time for a probation violation, recognized Cavalcante after he used similar escape tactics, authorities told CNN last week.
After Bolte escaped, officials assured the public that they were taking steps to increase security at the facility.
“We think we’re taking the appropriate steps to … prevent it with razor wire,” Chester County Jail Acting Warden Howard Holland said during a Sept. 6 press conference.
Before Cavalcante’s escape, the facility’s most high-profile escapee was Igor Bolte, 30, who escaped from the facility twice Chester County Jail
“Again, one thing we don’t take into account is the failure in terms of the human element, we only focus on the physical infrastructure and not necessarily the human element.”
The so-called “human element” – evading tower guards on duty – also played a role in Cavalcante’s escape.
An 18-year corrections veteran who was supposed to be on guard when Cavalcante escaped was fired last week, a Chester County spokeswoman told The Post.
Weeks before Bolte’s brief escape, on May 7, two inmates escaped from a Philadelphia jail and spent nearly 24 hours on the lam before staff realized they were missing.
Cavalcante was caught on camera walking up the wall of the Chester County Jail on August 31. via REUTERS
Ameen Hurst, 18, and Nasir Grant, 24, slipped through a hole in the fence of the recreation yard at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Facility around 8 p.m., authorities said.
Officials didn’t realize their ruse until 3pm the next day, they later admitted.
“We have a protocol in place and that protocol was not followed,” Philadelphia Department of Corrections Commissioner Blanche Carney lamented at a presser, where she noted that the couple’s absence went unnoticed during the three head counts after they escaped.
Carney blamed the failure on staff shortages and the struggle to keep up with the growing prison population.
Nasir Grant (left) and Ameen Hurst walk out of a Philadelphia jail in May.AP
Carney’s complaints are not unusual with county jail supervisors, Jordan Hyatt, associate professor of criminology and justice studies and director of the Center for Public Policy at Drexel University, told CNN.
“In general, there is a shortage of staff in many correctional systems, especially at the local level, which limits the ability of institutions to supervise the incarcerated population as they would like,” he explained.
“We’re not fully operational,” Carney told WHYY.
“I don’t have the full amount of posts [filled].”
Michael Burham spent nine days on the run before being recaptured in July.AP
Grant, who is in custody on drug and gun-related charges, was arrested on May 11, while Hurst – who was arrested in connection with four fatal shootings – was finally arrested on May 17.
In another daring escape on July 6, Warren County inmate Michael Burham made headlines when he broke out of the county jail facility using a sheet rope to bring down the building.
On the run, Burham, 34, was arrested on 26 charges including arson, kidnapping and burglary, while he was also being investigated for raping and killing the mother of his child in Jameston, New York, officials said at the time.
Like Cavalcante, Burham spent nine days on the run before being sniffed out of a wooded area by a dog – this time, a family pet named Tucket who alerted his owner to a stranger lurking near their yard.
Cavalcante was sniffed out of the woods by K9.James Keivom for the NY Post
The homeowners, Ron and Cynthia Ecklund, eventually found Burham nearby, and immediately called 911.
Despite the string of high-profile failures, state and local officials appeared to dismiss public concerns at a press conference Wednesday morning about Cavalcante’s release.
“This is how government and law enforcement are supposed to work,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said at the podium about Cavalcante’s arrest, conveniently dodging questions about whether it would have been safer if it was dangerous and the inmates hadn’t escaped and armed themselves in the first place. .
Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan was also beaming and said the area’s “nightmare” is finally over.
“The good guys win,” he exclaimed.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
