SUPREME SACRIFICE BEHIND THE BARS
by Craig W. Floyd
December 6, 2005

Approximately 1,500 inmates had gathered for the noon meal at the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas. One of the prisoners, Robert Stroud, was becoming more and more agitated. The previous day, one of the correctional officers, Andrew Turner, had taken Stroud's name and prisoner number. That was usually a sign that a disciplinary report was going to be filed and Stroud was worried that an upcoming visit with his brother might be canceled.

The thought of missing that visit with his brother was too much for Stroud to bear. He requested permission to leave his table and approached Officer Turner to ask if a report on his conduct the previous day had been filed. Officer Turner, who had only recently been transferred to Leavenworth, told the inmate that no report had been filed. Stroud apparently still had his doubts, though, because he suddenly pulled out a homemade knife and fatally stabbed the officer in the heart. The date was March 26, 1916.

Stroud was convicted of murdering the 39-year-old correctional officer and he was sentenced to hang. However, President Woodrow Wilson commuted his sentence to life imprisonment and Stroud went on to live another 50 years in the federal prison system. To help fill some of the long days behind bars, Stroud developed a fascination with birds, and soon after his death in 1963, he was immortalized in film as "The Birdman of Alcatraz." Ironically, no movie was ever made of Andrew Turner's life and his supreme sacrifice has gone largely unnoticed.

Andrew Turner is one of more than 470 correctional officers at the federal, state and local level to die in the line of duty. All of their names are engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. Soon, their stories will all be told in the National Law Enforcement Museum that is set to open in 2011, a tribute that is long overdue.

There are more than 200,000 correctional officers currently serving today in local jails, state prisons and federal penitentiaries. Too often, the vital service of these officers is taken for granted, largely because their work is performed out of sight of most Americans. But make no mistake about it, these law enforcement professionals are doing a job as important as any other. They are responsible for the custody and security of some 2.2 million inmates nationwide — the highest number ever. Just consider that at the Rikers Island detention center in New York City alone, they process over 350,000 inmates each year, more than any other facility. And, this job cannot be done without staring danger in the eye. Some call it the toughest beat of all.

The current ratio of inmates to officers is nearly seven to one. Last year, there were 7,795 assaults on correctional officers. Two died in the line of duty: Iowa Corrections Officer Scott Bryant; and George Probation Officer II Eugene T. Groover Jr.

The first known correctional death occurred in 1841 when William Bullard, of the Missouri Department of Corrections, was beaten to death during an escape attempt. The oldest to die was Nebraska correctional officer John Claussen, 70, who was stabbed to death in 1954. The youngest was Gregory Owen Cushing, 19, a jail officer who served with the LaGrange County (IN) Sheriff's Department. On October 30, 1995, Officer Cushing was killed in an automobile accident while on his way to transport an unruly prisoner to the local jail.

In the past 10 years alone, 72 correctional officers have been killed in the line of duty. Among those fallen heroes was Richland County (SC) Detention Officer Alvin Glenn, 55, who was beaten and strangled by a group of escaping prisoners. At the time of the attack Officer Glenn was all alone with 64 inmates.

On October 18, 2002, Sergeant Eric Autobee of the Colorado Department of Corrections, was beaten to death by an inmate serving a life sentence for killing his 11-week-old daughter.






Texas Correctional Officer Stanley A. Wiley had his throat slashed while supervising inmates in the prison shoe factory on January 29, 2003.






Darla Lathrem, a Florida Correctional Officer, was beaten to death with a sledgehammer by a group of escaping prisoners on June 11, 2003.






Frederick Hyatt, a Tennessee Corrections Officer, was strangled and beaten to death during an attempted prison escape on November 8, 2003.

The deadliest year for correctional officers was 1971 when 17 were killed in the line of duty, including seven during the Attica, New York prison riot, which began on Thursday, September 9, 1971, at approximately 8:50 a.m. Most of the 2,243 inmates gained control of the facility in a well-planned, violent attack against prison employees. The prisoners took 50 correctional officers and other civilian employees hostage.


Over the next four days, a series of negotiations took place in an effort to end the uprising peacefully. Unfortunately, those efforts failed and on the morning of September 13 a rescue force of nearly 200 New York State Police officers, National Guard helicopters and two correctional officers stormed the facility.



When it was all over, 32 inmates were dead, along with 10 of the hostages, including seven correctional officers: Edward T. Cunningham, John J. D'Archangelo, Jr., Richard J. Lewis, William E. Quinn, Carl W. Valone, Ronald D.Werner and Harrison W. Whalen.

A memorial has been erected at Attica in memory of these fallen heroes. Along with a list of the names is this chilling message: "Man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn."