Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Monday that he expects "a full briefing" after the state Department of Correction completes an internal investigation of an escape by a convicted murderer who was allowed to work unshackled but under armed guard outside a prison in eastern Arkansas.
Department Director Wendy Kelley also said Monday that the escape by inmate Lloyd Jones "was preventable" and that she and the governor share the same concerns.
Searchers captured Jones on Thursday afternoon, three days after he walked away from a work detail near the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys, a town near Marianna in Lee County. He was found about 3 miles from the prison.
Hutchinson spoke with Kelley on Monday, said J.R. Davis, the governor's spokesman.
"In that conversation, I directed that she conduct a full internal review of the circumstances surrounding last week's escape, as well as a thorough assessment of the department's relative policies," Hutchinson said in an emailed statement.
"We expect that review to be completed around the first part of next week, and I expect to receive a full briefing after the review has been finalized," Hutchinson added.
Jones, 40, was convicted in 2012 of murdering a 16-year-old girl in Sebastian County and previously was convicted of rape.
Jones had an inmate classification that allowed him to work unshackled outside the prison as long as he was under armed guard, department spokesman Solomon Graves said last week. After the escape, the department changed Jones' classification to the strictest and moved him to a maximum-security unit in Tucker.
Kelley said she and the governor spoke about 20 minutes by telephone. "But he had already been briefed as developments unfolded and he was already aware of the focus of our internal investigation," she added in an email interview.
"We discussed the investigation and questions we want answered," Kelley said. "It was a good discussion and all of his concerns are our concerns."
She said the governor's office "will be updated as the investigation moves forward" and noted that Hutchinson had requested an update when the committee reviewing the issues completes its work.
"The committee will be reviewing the policy that provides for inmate classification, and other policies are also being reviewed by management staff as a result of this escape," in addition to other routine reviews, Kelley said.
Kelley said the armed guard who was supervising Jones at the time of the escape was overseeing 13 inmates. Last week, state Rep. Marshall Wright, D-Forrest City, had called the classification policy an "extreme failure" and said he had been told the guard was supervising about 35 inmates.
Kelley declined to say why she believed the escape was preventable.
"As to the why, I would prefer to have all the information from the committee's work before commenting," she said.
Benny Magness, chairman of the state Board of Corrections, said Monday that it was too early for him to comment on the issue.
"Every time we have an incident, the board or either the agency does an investigation," Magness said. "Right now, I am comfortable with [the agency] doing it and bringing it to the board."
The Arkansas State Police's Criminal Investigation Division also is investigating the escape.
Graves said Monday that, counting Jones, four prisoners have escaped since January 2015 and all were recaptured. He noted that a fifth inmate, Christopher Wilson, was killed during an escape attempt from the Varner unit in April.
Jones, who lived near Lavaca in Sebastian County, pleaded guilty in August 2012 to first-degree murder in the death of Angela Allen of Van Buren. He also was convicted of abuse of a corpse and possession of material depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.
Police said he killed the girl, stuffed her body into a barrel and buried her.
State Desk on 06/21/2016