By C1 Staff
WILKES-BARRE — The senator who introduced legislation after the murder of corrections officer Eric Williams to get pepper spray into the hands of all federal prison workers will be heading up a pilot program to test the defense’s effectiveness behind prison walls.
Sen. Bob Casey announced on Monday that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons agreed to expand the program that allows prions employees to carry pepper spray to include high-security employees who work with inmates, according to the Times Leader.
Six facilities will be equipped, including Allenwood in Pennsylvania.
Casey said he hopes that the pilot program is the first step toward expanding the use of pepper spray by prison workers nationwide.
The BOP originally barred all corrections officers from carrying pepper spray, despite a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report in 2011 that said some state correctional facilities that allowed officers to carry pepper spray saw a reduction in assault rates as a result of the policy.
Inmate Jesse Con-Ui was indicted for the murder of Williams in June 2013. The U.S. Attorney’s office filed a notice of intent to see the death penalty in the case.
Williams’ father, Donald Williams, announced that the family was seeking legislation to make the death penalty mandatory for killing a federal officer. He is also lobbying for better safety for corrections officers.