Gov. John Carney named two corporate lawyers and retired judges – Delaware Supreme Court Justice Henry duPont Ridgely and Family Court Judge William L. Chapman, Jr.- to lead a review into the February 1 hostage incident at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center that claimed a corrections officer’s life.
On the same day, a prison reform group demanded a federal probe.
The probe will not start until a criminal investigation is completed. At present, the investigation focuses on the more than 100 inmates in the building where the incident took place.
On the same day, The Delaware Coalition of Prison Reform and Justice demanded an independent federal probe.
“We do not feel the state can investigate itself,” said the Rev. Christopher Bullock, who chairs the coalition, adding that further action must be taken to ensure a deadly situation doesn’t happen again within Delaware state prisons.
Families of inmates have expressed concerns that prisoners could be abused under any crackdown at correctional centers.
The union representing correctional officers in Delaware has also weighed in, claiming that staff shortages and state officials failing to heed warnings of problems and making moves that endangered officers bear responsibility for the incident. There have been similar statements from families of prisoners and former inmates.
“This was a tragic incident that deserves a full and thorough independent examination,” stated Ridgely. “We will focus our efforts, first and foremost, on learning how this happened. And we will act with urgency to produce meaningful recommendations that would make Delaware’s correctional facilities more secure, and hopefully prevent this type of incident from happening again.”
“We will act expeditiously and with purpose to understand what happened at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center,” said Chapman. “We are committed to undertaking this review with independence, and the people of Delaware should feel confident that we will identify and recommend changes we believe are necessary to improve safety and security at the facility.”
Ridgely is Senior Counsel at the global law firm DLA Piper and a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware. Justice Ridgely served more than 30 years as a jurist in the Delaware Judiciary.
Chapman is Chief Talent and Diversity Officer and Senior Counsel at Potter Anderson & Corroon. Before joining the firm, Judge Chapman served as a Family Court judge for the state of Delaware. He also served as Deputy Attorney General for the Delaware Department of Justice.
The prison is located near Smyrna in an isolated area on the southern fringe of New Castle County.
