Texas Prison Was Short-Staffed

Wednesday, January 10th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

KENEDY, Texas (AP) â€” The prison where seven heavily armed inmates escaped last month was short-staffed by almost two dozen guards on the day of the breakout, according to a union official.

Brian Olsen, deputy director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, conceded that guards made mistakes during the escape, but criticized the Legislature for failing to address staff shortages.

``I am still under the belief that lack of staffing is at the root of the problem,'' Olsen told The Dallas Morning News. ``Someone has to take some responsibility, and I think it's at the Capitol.''

State Sen. John Whitmire said Olsen's criticisms were ill-advised.

``I quite frankly don't believe now is the proper time to be discussing blame for the escape. Everyone's attention should be on the capture and placing these individuals back in prison,'' he said.

Olsen said the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Connally Unit in Kenedy was 22 officers short. Glen Castlebury, a Department of Criminal Justice spokesman, acknowledged the likelihood of vacancies, but said he was unsure how many the prison might have had.

State prison officials have identified lax security, including a guard's failure to request identification from one inmate as he approached the guard tower, as a significant factor in the escapes.

The manhunt for the prisoners has intensified in recent weeks, in the wake of a Christmas Eve robbery at a sporting goods store allegedly committed by the inmates. A police officer was killed in the robbery.