New warden, security measures after escape
Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y.
A new superintendent has been named to run the maximum-security prison in New York where two killers escaped. He’ll oversee a range of new security measures that close gaps exploited by the inmates during their breakout.
The state corrections department said Wednesday that 30-year veteran Michael Kirkpatrick is now superintendent of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.
The previous superintendent and 11 other staff were put on paid leave Tuesday after an internal review of how David Sweat and Richard Matt escaped June 6.
The department says searches of inmates’ cells will be stepped up, staffing will be changed to ensure bed checks are more effective and security gates will be installed in the facility’s tunnels.
Matt was shot dead after a three-week manhunt. Sweat was captured two days after that and is hospitalized.