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Delaware Governor Orders Probe into Prison Hostage Standoff

Governor-Elect John Carney (D-De)
House of Representatives
Governor-Elect John Carney (D-De)

Governor John Carney is ordering an independent review of the hostage standoff at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in which one officer was killed.

The Delaware Democrat said that he was determined to find out how this happened.

The Wilmington News Journal reports that the review will follow the criminal investigation by Delaware state police into the death of Lt. Steven Floyd.

In addition, an internal investigation is also being conducted by the Department of Correction.

Meanwhile, the Delaware Coalition of Prison Reform and Justice is demanding an independent federal investigation into the hostage standoff.

After Carney’s announcement Reverend Christopher Bullock who chairs the coalition told the News Journal that he was pleased with the governor taking his group’s demand seriously.

But Bullock said that his group would still send letters to the U.S. Attorney and the acting Attorney General’s office demanding an investigation.

James T. Vaughn Correctional Center
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creative commons
James T. Vaughn Correctional Center

The coalition said that treatment of the prisoners is a top concern that would have led to the uprising.

Delaware NAACP President Richard Smith said that his organization had offered to go into the prison and help deal with inmate complaints.

The News Journal reports that all of the state’s prisons appear to be in some form of lockdown.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.