By Joe LoTemplio
Press-Republican
DANNEMORA — Inmates at Clinton Correctional Facility are now allowed out of their cells after a nearly two-week lockdown imposed after the escape of two killers.
The investigation into how Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped has begun in earnest, with teams from the State Inspector General’s Office arriving at the prison Thursday.
The inspector general herself, Catherine Leahy Scott, was at the facility Thursday, said a source close to the investigation who was not authorized to speak publicly.
“They (investigative teams) will be conducting interviews, touring the prison and gathering as much information as they can and getting a first-hand look at the prison,” the source said.
VISITATIONS BACK
The lockdown was put into effect Saturday, June 6, after Matt and Sweat were discovered missing at 5:30 a.m.
During a lockdown, inmates are confined to their cells for 24 hours a day.
DOCCS spokesperson Linda Foglia issued a statement saying the lockdown would be lifted Thursday and that the facility would return to normal operations.
With the lockdown over, Foglia noted that the inmates have returned to work assignments, and all prisoners are participating in out-of-cell meals, recreation and telephone use.
Inmate visitations will also resume on Friday, June 19.
HONOR BLOCKS
Matt, 48, and Sweat, 35, were inmates housed in what is known as the Honor Block at Clinton, where inmates are allowed more privileges than other prisoners, including being able to wear civilian clothes.
There have been reports that honor blocks at all prisons in the state would be eliminated in the wake of the escape, but Foglia offered no confirmation on that.
Earlier this week, Albany-area State Assembymen James Tedisco and Steve McLaughlin held a news conference calling for legislation banning inmates from wearing civilian clothes and requiring a correction officer to be present at all times when inmates are with civilian employees.
Joyce Mitchell, 51, a civilian supervisor in the prison tailor shop, has been charged with aiding Matt and Sweat in their escape. Both inmates worked in the tailor shop.
RIGHT MOVE
North Country Assemblywoman Janet Duprey (R-Peru) had criticized Tedisco and McLaughlin’s efforts, saying it was a publicity stunt and grandstanding.
Tedisco fired back Thursday, pointing to published reports that the Honor Block at Clinton was being eliminated.
“If they (DOCCS) closed Honor Block, then they went even further than what we were asking for,” Tedisco said.
“I’d like to think we had something to do with that.”
McLaughlin said that eliminating Honor Block is the right move.
“We don’t see this as a knee-jerk reaction,” he said, which is how Duprey characterized their proposal.
Duprey, who serves on the Assembly Committee on Crime and Corrections, said she has not been given any confirmation that honor blocks in the system will be eliminated.
ROUTE FOR CHANGE
Duprey said changes, no doubt, need to be made but not until thorough study of the situation, including the Inspector General’s investigation.
“These are obviously extraordinary circumstances, and we have to figure it all out. I have the utmost confidence in DOCCS, NYSCOPBA (correction officers union) and the Inspector General’s Office to all work together and come up with some answers,” Duprey said.
“If changes need to be made I have to believe many of them can be made administratively. If we need legislation, we can deal with it then.”
IG POWER
The Inspector General’s Office has the power to conduct a criminal investigation, subpoena witnesses and take testimony, spokesman John Milgrim said.
That office has investigated the state prison system before.
Earlier this year, an investigation led to the arrest of James A. Ferro, the former director of operations for the Special Investigations Unit within DOCCS, for allegedly forcibly touching and repeatedly harassing a subordinate employee.
In 2013, an Inspector General’s Office probe led to significant changes in DOCCS vehicle-use policies after it was discovered that cars were being given to 80 correctional facility superintendents and central office executives solely for commuting to and from work.
ACCOMMODATING RAMADAN
Inside the jail on Thursday, staff was preparing to deal with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Ramadan is dedicated to prayer, and Muslims refrain from food or drink during daylight hours.
A source at the prison said that about 150 of the nearly 3,000 inmates participate in Ramadan. Those prisoners are housed in cell blocks throughout the facility, which means it takes time to gather them all for evening prayer in a prison mosque.
After prayer, they are sent to the mess hall for dinner, which they cannot eat until after sundown.
Extra correction officers have to be put on duty, the source said, to help with the inmate counts before and after prayer and the evening meal.
“There are about 10 different jobs that have to be done during Ramadan, and we have inmates coming and going all over, and it creates a lot more opportunities for things to go wrong,” the source said.
“It is a challenge normally, but in the aftermath of the escape, things are even more sensitive.”