Texas Death Row Inmate Walks Out of Jail

[liberalnurse]

Why was he not a two-man or three-man move with cuffs and shackles? I can not believe this!!!!!!! He also should of been in Administrative Segregation!

Also....this should be on camera.....Every jail except for Mayberry has 24/7 cameras.

This has to be a big, inside job. For crying out loud...I'm a nurse and know this!

link:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-110405texas_lat,0,4027925.story?coll=la-story-footer&track=morenews

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A convicted murderer who was just resentenced to die for killing his former girlfriend and her boyfriend apparently sweet-talked his way out of the county jail in Houston and remained at large today.

Charles Victor Thompson, 35, obtained civilian clothes and fake documents suggesting that he worked for the state attorney general's office, said Harris County sheriff's Lt. John Martin in a nationally televised news conference.

Thompson may have hid the clothes in legal papers he brought with him to meet an attorney in a private area of the jail, or he may have worn them under his distinctive orange inmate jumpsuit. After the lawyer left, Thompson, clad in the civilian togs, left the attorney area.

He then approached the security control point and flashed the false identification at a civilian employee. The employee said he couldn't find his name on a visitor's log, prompting Thompson to explain that he had entered the area from another building.

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:scared:

[Catherine Vincent]

1. That guy is probably long gone.

I was waiting on my bus in dt houston yesterday and saw helicopters overhead didn't know what was going on. I can't believe they haven't found him yet.

[liberalnurse]

2. There is something very, very suspicious here.

Such inmates are always a 2 or 3 man move/cuff and shackle ...even for a professional visit or to medical for a bandaide....

Houston probably has a huge, huge jail........There will be much more to this story.

[Catherine Vincent]

3. It could be.

Somebody will definitely loser their job over this. It can't be that easy. I wonder if the cops are stopping every white male that fit his description?

[liberalnurse]

4. Let me tell you this.....

How this happened, with a convict, death-row murderer; it is not an accident or a slip-up. This is a well planned inside job involving many staff members.

They need to suspend every corrections officer and jail deputy now......Call in the National Guard to work the jail or send inmates to other facilities.

[Horse with no Name]

5. Welcome to Booosh Amurika

Chances are he was in one of our privatized jails ...and as you said, more than likely, people were paid very well to look the other way, get clothes, etc.
That's the big problem with privatization...the loyalty is to the dollar and nothing else.

[bluestateguy]

6. Republicans run the show in Texas

They control absolutely everything. I mean everything including the kitchen sink.

I wonder how they'll find a way to blame the "liberals" for this fuckup.

[peacebaby3]

7. I work in the legal field with death row inmates.

When I have a legal visit, my clients are never shackled once they are in the room with me. They are also left alone in the room with me because of attorney - client privilege. In any high security prison there are windows where a guard can see in the room, but otherwise no shackles and nobody else allowed in the room.

Sounds like this guy may have still been in a jail since he had just had another sentencing hearing and they were probably getting ready to transfer him back to prison. He probably had dress clothes that he had worn in court, but some of the staff should have taken them from him immediately. As far as papers, that would have been something he could have definitely had and brought with him to a meeting with his attorney. I can't say where he would have gotten the ID unless he managed to get his hands on it somehow in the jail while he was awaiting the new sentencing hearing. One big mistake I see by the staff was that anytime I visit my client, at the end of our meeting, they come and get my client and I have to wait in the room until someone comes to let me out. Someone made a mistake by leaving him in the room after the attorney left. I wouldn't call it an inside job, I would call the staff really incompetent though.

This is an extremely rare incident. I can't remember the last time anyone from my state has escaped from death row (maybe never). They are in a cell about 10X5 with a solid iron door for 23 hrs. a day. They are allowed to walk around a small caged off area, heavily guarded, for about 40 minutes per day. They are allowed to have legal visits when scheduled and family visits once a week for about 30 minutes (about 80% of these ppl. don't have family that are either able to visit or many just don't care. They come from dysfunctional environments). If this guy had actually been on death row and not awaiting transfer, he wouldn't have been able to escape.

The only time someone left prison from death row (that I can remember) in my state was a guy about 6-7 yrs. ago. He had the same name as another inmate who came up for parole so they brought him up to release him. He actually told them they were releasing the wrong person, but they did anyway. Had to be one of the most stupid things ever done since he was on death row. I'm sure some people lost their job over this incident. He caught a bus to a local cafe, had a hamburger and called his attorney so she could get someone from law enforcement to come pick him up. He said he didn't have anywhere to go, but really wanted a good hamburger. He was executed a couple of years ago.

I hope this incident doesn't create some kind of hysteria among people. It's already bad enough trying to fight congress and everyone else trying to speed up death row appeals and not allowing hardly any issues to be raised. Technically this guy had been convicted of a capital crime and re-sentenced to death, but he did not escape from death row because he had not made it there yet.

[liberalnurse]

8. Thank you for the feedback. Great insight.

I bet they didn't take him to be dressed out after court. When inmates are transported out to court, I thought they all had to go through the Booking Area or Transport Area. It is there they can have them change clothes or at least remove the street outfits under the orange jump suits.

Another incompetent action had to be the badge count. Visitors and professionals have to turn in their guest badge to get back their ID. I thought that they were also counted.

What about cameras? They should have the hall way and vestibule on camera.

I don't think folks will panic about this escape. I see your logic making the point it was not a big inside job.....just gross incompetence and/or short staffing.