PINE BLUFF (KFSM) -- The Arkansas Department of Corrections has placed the blame of an inmate escaping on the complacency of supervising staff.
Two guards and two security workers were supervising the 13 inmates the day Lloyd Jones escaped. At one point during midday, only one person was overseeing the crew, which allowed Jones to run.
ADC Director Wendy Kelley didn't mince her words during a press conference on Monday (June 27), which outlined the contributing factors in allowing Jones to escape.
"Post orders required that the security officer have the inmates in view at all times, and that didn't happen,” Kelley said. “Unfortunately the escape was the result of complacency by some of the staff."
Wardens will now review all inmates in certain classifications who have been assigned jobs outside the perimeter.
"At no time will one person be left in charge of an inmate crew working outside the fence with a classification of 1-c or below except where they`re under the supervision of a line supervisor," said Kelley.
The escape has resulted in prison officials instilling in staff that constant vigilance is key.
"Our main goal right now is to really double down on our staff and make sure that we're getting that word out there," Solomon Graves, spokesman for the ADC said. "Complacency is going to bite us every time."