Latest news with #BennyMagness
The Guardian
11-07-2025
- The Guardian
Arkansas prison guards fired over escape of killer dubbed ‘Devil in the Ozarks'
Two employees at an Arkansas prison where an inmate known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks' escaped have been fired for policy violations, corrections officials said Thursday as they faced questions from lawmakers who said the escape points to deeper problems. The head of the Arkansas board of corrections told state lawmakers the violations allowed Grant Hardin to escape from the Calico Rock prison wearing a makeshift law enforcement uniform on 25 May. But officials have said there was no evidence employees knowingly assisted Hardin's escape. One of the fired employees had allowed Hardin onto an outside kitchen dock unsupervised, and the other employee worked in a tower and had opened the gate Hardin walked through without confirming his identity, board chairperson Benny Magness said. 'If either one of them would have been following policy, it wouldn't have happened,' Magness told members of the legislative council's charitable, penal, and correctional institutions subcommittee. Hardin was captured 1.5 miles (2.4km) north-west of the Calico Rock prison on 6 June. Authorities said he escaped by donning an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. Magness said the outfit was crafted from an inmate uniform and a kitchen apron dyed black using a marker – while a soup can lid and a bible cover were fashioned to look like a badge. Lawmakers said the escape pointed to systemic problems beyond the two employees, including how Hardin was able to fashion the fake uniform without guards noticing. 'I think we've got major issues here that need to be dealt with,' said Republican state senator Matt McKee, who helps lead the legislative panel that oversees corrections. Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway, near the Arkansas-Missouri border, is serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary titled Devil in the Ozarks. After his capture, Hardin was transferred to a maximum security prison in Varner, a small community about 65 miles (125km) south-east of Little Rock. Hardin has pleaded not guilty to an escape charge and is set to go on trial in November. Hardin held a job in the prison's kitchen and had not had any disciplinary problems during his time there. In addition to the uniform, Hardin fashioned a ladder out of wooden pallets that were on the dock, corrections officials told lawmakers Thursday. They said he also took peanut butter sandwiches from the prison to survive on after his escape. Hardin planned to use the ladder to scale the fence and escape if the gate wasn't opened for him, said Dexter Payne, director of the division of correction. 'There are a lot of things he did unnoticed and unaware,' Republican state senator Ben Gilmore said during the hearing. 'I don't think you can blame just two people for that.' Members of the panel also said Hardin's escape points to the need to scrutinize a classification system that placed a convicted murderer in what's primarily a medium-security facility. Payne said a critical incident review of the escape planned later in July may determine if other employees will face firings, demotions or disciplinary actions. It also will determine what other policy changes may be needed, he said. 'There's nobody that's more embarrassed about it than me,' said Thomas Hurst, warden of the prison, formally called the north central unit. 'It's not good. We failed, and I understand it.'
New York Times
11-07-2025
- New York Times
2 Arkansas Prison Workers Are Fired in Wake of Convicted Murderer's Escape
Two Arkansas prison employees have been fired after they unknowingly helped a former police chief convicted of murder and rape escape from a high-security prison in May, dressed in a fake law enforcement uniform, officials said. One of the employees was a kitchen supervisor who allowed the inmate, Grant Hardin, onto a loading dock where prisoners were not supposed to go unsupervised, Arkansas prison officials said. The other was a guard in a prison tower who buzzed open a gate and let Mr. Hardin walk out of the prison, without checking to see if he was actually a law enforcement official, officials said. Both employees were fired for having violated prison policy, Benny Magness, the chairman of the Arkansas Board of Corrections, told state lawmakers at a hearing on Thursday. Their names have not been publicly released. 'You had two people, unfortunately, if either of them would have said, 'No,' if any of them would have stopped, Mr. Hardin wouldn't have gotten out,' Mr. Magness said. He described it as a case of 'human error' and not intentional malfeasance. Mr. Hardin, 56, who worked in the prison kitchen, exploited his job there to carry out his escape from the prison in Calico Rock, Ark., on May 25, officials said. He was captured on June 6, less than two miles from the prison, ending an intense manhunt. On the day of his escape, he asked the kitchen supervisor if he could go onto the loading dock to clean out a cage that held cleaning chemicals, officials said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
11-07-2025
- Fox News
‘Devil in the Ozarks' investigators uncover how murderer escaped prison before manhunt
Arkansas lawmakers questioned officials with the state's Department of Corrections on Thursday about the escape of a dangerous inmate nicknamed the "Devil in the Ozarks" in late May. Grant Hardin, a 56-year-old murderer and rapist, was captured on June 6, approximately 1.5 miles north-northwest of the North Central Unit prison facility from which he escaped on May 25, the Izard County Sheriff's Office said. DOC Chairman Benny Magness told Arkansas State Sen. Fredrick Love during a Thursday hearing that while no officials actively had helped Hardin escape, a kitchen supervisor had allowed the inmate — who worked in the kitchen — to work on the back dock without supervision, which Magness noted is "against policy." "Then, the guy in the tower that let him through the gate…you don't open that gate for anybody or anything when there's not a ground person there to verify who it is who is wanting to exit the prison," Magness said, adding that those two employees were terminated for workplace violations. The DOC chairman also said the "stars had to line up" for Hardin to successfully escape. He fled the prison around 3 p.m. that Sunday through a sally port in the detention facility, wearing a makeshift ADC-style uniform, ADC communications director Rand Champion said previously, noting the uniform he had been wearing was not official. Magness also said Hardin apparently used a black "magic marker" to dye his clothing as part of his disguise. "I did actually see the little badge that he made out of a soup can top," Magness said. Hardin was serving an 80-year sentence for the 2017 murder of James Appleton and a previously unsolved 1997 rape case. Multiple federal, state and local agencies were involved in the search for Hardin in the weeks following his escape. "I'm incredibly appreciative to all of our dedicated law enforcement agencies that spent countless hours, both day and night, sacrificing their time, utilizing their resources and lending their invaluable expertise to this search," Arkansas Secretary of Corrections Lindsay Wallace said after Hardin was captured on June 6. "To every one of our Department staff that assisted in this manhunt over the last 13 days, I give my heartfelt thank you for your immeasurable contributions to bring this search to a peaceful conclusion."
CNN
11-07-2025
- CNN
Arkansas prison employees fired after ‘Devil in the Ozarks' escape
FacebookTweetLink Two employees at an Arkansas prison where an inmate known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks' escaped have been fired for policy violations, corrections officials said Thursday as they faced questions from lawmakers who said the escape points to deeper problems. The head of the Arkansas Board of Corrections told state lawmakers the violations allowed Grant Hardin to escape from the Calico Rock prison wearing a makeshift law enforcement uniform on May 25. But officials have said there was no evidence employees knowingly assisted Hardin's escape. One of the fired employees had allowed Hardin onto an outside kitchen dock unsupervised and the other employee worked in a tower and had opened the gate Hardin walked through without confirming his identity, Chairman Benny Magness said. 'If either one of them would have been following policy, it wouldn't have happened,' Magness told members of the Legislative Council's charitable, penal, and correctional institutions subcommittee. Hardin was captured 1.5 miles northwest of the Calico Rock prison on June 6. Authorities said he escaped by donning an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. Magness said the outfit was crafted from an inmate uniform and kitchen apron dyed black using a marker while a soup can lid and a Bible cover were fashioned to look like a badge. Lawmakers said the escape pointed to systemic problems beyond the two employees — including how Hardin was able to fashion the fake uniform without guards noticing. 'I think we've got major issues here that need to be dealt with,' said Republican Sen. Matt McKee, who co-chairs the subcommittee. Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway, near the Arkansas-Missouri border, is serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.' After his capture, Hardin was transferred to a maximum security prison in Varner, a small community about 65 miles southeast of Little Rock. Hardin has pleaded not guilty to an escape charge and is set to go on trial in November. Hardin held a job in the kitchen in the prison and had not had any disciplinary problems during his time there. In addition to the uniform, Hardin fashioned a ladder out of wooden pallets that were on the dock and also took peanut butter sandwiches from the prison to survive on after his escape, corrections officials told lawmakers Thursday. Hardin planned to use the ladder to scale the fence and escape if the gate wasn't opened for him, said Dexter Payne, director of the division of correction. 'There are a lot of things he did unnoticed and unaware,' Republican Sen. Ben Gilmore said during the hearing. 'I don't think you can blame just two people for that.' Members of the panel also said Hardin's escape points to the need to scrutinize a classification system that placed a convicted murderer in what's primarily a medium-security facility. Payne said a critical incident review of the escape planned later this month may determine if other employees will face firings, demotions or disciplinary actions. It also will determine what other policy changes may be needed, he said. State Police is also investigating the escape to determine whether any laws, policies or procedures were violated in the escape. Col. Mike Hagar, the head of state police and secretary of public safety, said the final report on the investigation may be completed within 30 days. Thomas Hurst, warden of the prison – formally called the North Central Unit – said State Police was not notified immediately of the escape though local police were, blaming it on a miscommunication. 'There's nobody that's more embarrassed about (the escape) than me,' Hurst said. 'It's not good. We failed, and I understand it.'
The Independent
11-07-2025
- The Independent
Staff fired after ‘Devil in the Ozarks' prison escape
Two prison staff have been fired following the escape of an inmate known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks '. The pair, who were employees at the Calico Rock prison in Arkansas, USA, were fired due policy violations which allowed the prisoner, real name Grant Hardin, to escape. It comes as corrections officials faced questions from lawmakers on Thursday, who said the escape pointed to deeper problems within the system. The head of the Arkansas Board of Corrections told state lawmakers the violations allowed Grant Hardin to escape from the Calico Rock prison wearing a makeshift law enforcement uniform on May 25. But officials have said there was no evidence employees knowingly assisted Hardin's escape. One of the fired employees had allowed Hardin onto an outside kitchen dock unsupervised and the other employee worked in a tower and had opened the gate Hardin walked through without confirming his identity, Chairman Benny Magness said. 'If either one of them would have been following policy, it wouldn't have happened,' Magness told members of the Legislative Council's charitable, penal, and correctional institutions subcommittee. Hardin was captured 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) northwest of the Calico Rock prison on June 6. Authorities said he escaped by donning an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. Magness said the outfit was crafted from an inmate uniform and kitchen apron dyed black using a marker while a soup can lid and a Bible cover were fashioned to look like a badge. Lawmakers said the escape pointed to systemic problems beyond the two employees — including how Hardin was able to fashion the fake uniform without guards noticing. 'I think we've got major issues here that need to be dealt with,' said Republican Sen. Matt McKee, who co-chairs the subcommittee. Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway, near the Arkansas-Missouri border, is serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.' After his capture, Hardin was transferred to a maximum security prison in Varner, a small community about 65 miles (125 kilometers) southeast of Little Rock. Hardin has pleaded not guilty to an escape charge and is set to go on trial in November. Hardin held a job in the kitchen in the prison and had not had any disciplinary problems during his time there. In addition to the uniform, Hardin fashioned a ladder out of wooden pallets that were on the dock and also took peanut butter sandwiches from the prison to survive on after his escape, corrections officials told lawmakers Thursday. Hardin planned to use the ladder to scale the fence and escape if the gate wasn't opened for him, said Dexter Payne, director of the division of correction. 'There are a lot of things he did unnoticed and unaware,' Republican Sen. Ben Gilmore said during the hearing. 'I don't think you can blame just two people for that.' Members of the panel also said Hardin's escape points to the need to scrutinize a classification system that placed a convicted murderer in what's primarily a medium-security facility. Payne said a critical incident review of the escape planned later this month may determine if other employees will face firings, demotions or disciplinary actions. It also will determine what other policy changes may be needed, he said. State Police is also investigating the escape to determine whether any laws, policies or procedures were violated in the escape. Col. Mike Hagar, the head of state police and secretary of public safety, said the final report on the investigation may be completed within 30 days. Thomas Hurst, warden of the prison —formally called the North Central Unit — said State Police was not notified immediately of the escape though local police were, blaming it on a miscommunication. 'There's nobody that's more embarrassed about (the escape) than me,' Hurst said. 'It's not good. We failed, and I understand it.'
