(AP) - Delaware prison officials say one hostage is dead and a second is alert and talking after authorities went into a building at the state's largest prison where inmates took staff members hostage.
Officials announced in a statement Thursday morning that the building where the disturbance occurred at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center is now secure. The prison is in Smyrna, about 15 miles north of the state capital of Dover.
Officials say after police breached the building, one Department of Correction worker was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead.
The inmates took the hostages Wednesday morning, prompting a lockdown of all Delaware prisons. The inmates released one staffer in the afternoon and another Wednesday night. At least one of those staffers had injuries that weren't considered life-threatening.
Governor John Carney
After the death of a correctional officer during a hostage situation in a prison, Delaware Gov. John Carney says the priority is to determine what happened and how.
In a statement released Thursday morning, Carney says officials will "hold accountable anyone who was responsible" after the hostage situation at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center.
Carney says they'll "make whatever changes are necessary to ensure nothing like it ever happens again."
Gov. Carney says the correctional officer's death is a tragic reminder that law enforcement officers risk their lives every day. He says he's "praying hard" for the officer's family.
Prison Rights Advocates
Some Delaware prison rights advocates say they're saddened but not surprised that a hostage situation at the state's largest correctional facility led to the death of a corrections employee.
Dover attorney Stephen Hampton says he believes that inmates' anger about conditions at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center played a part in the drama that ended Thursday morning. Three other staffers who were taken hostage survived.
Hampton says he hopes the tragedy will convince state officials to act on inmate complaints alleging substandard medical care and sloppy record-keeping that Hampton says has caused some inmates to be held longer than they should have been.
Activist Kenneth Abraham of Citizens for Criminal Justice says hostage-taking is not the answer but he's not surprised it happened.
