Corrections officers fired over relationships with inmates

The nationally publicized escape of an East Tennessee inmate with help from his wife, a former prison nurse, marked the second time in less than a year that an inmate-guard relationship has resulted in a prisoner’s escape.

Tennessee Department of Correction officials say they don’t know how widespread the problem of inmate-staff relationships is but believe their policies to combat fraternization are adequate. They say they have no immediate plans to change policies.

“I don’t have any firm or concrete numbers to say how big or small” it is, spokeswoman Amanda Sluss said.

Between January 2004 and February 2005, at least 29 TDOC employees resigned or were fired for inappropriate relationships with prisoners or the inmates’ families.

Last year, Jennifer Forsyth was fired from her job as a contract prison nurse after she was caught bringing food to inmate George Hyatte. Despite her being banned from the prison, the pair were married earlier this year.

Police say on Tuesday, Jennifer Forsyth Hyatte helped her husband, who was serving a 35-year sentence, escape from the Roane County Courthouse, fatally shooting a guard in the process. They were captured in Ohio on Wednesday.

Last year, inmate Edward McDaniel escaped from the DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville allegedly with help from guard Vicki Sanford. The two were on the lam for almost a week before being apprehended in Texas.

At the time of McDaniel’s escape, TDOC said 86 female correction officers or contractors had been fired or resigned for inappropriate inmate relationships during the previous three years. Numbers for male officers were not available.

TDOC takes the problem of inmate-guard relationships very seriously, Sluss said.

“We don’t turn a blind eye to it and pretend it doesn’t happen,” she said. “This type of relationship will not be tolerated.

Employees receive instruction during training and yearly in-services about the potential security threat of befriending or getting involved with prisoners, Sluss said.