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Sheriff: Corrections Officer Helped Two Prisoners Escape From Brewton Work Release Barracks
February 18, 2020
An Escambia County (AL) correctional officer has been charged with helping two inmates escape from the work release barracks where she worked in Brewton.
Deidra Dee Madden, 47, was charged with two counts of facilitating an escape and booked into the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center. She was also fired, according to Sheriff Heath Jackson.
Jackson said Madden left a security door propped open early Saturday morning to allow 33-year old Hunter Craig Madden of Brewton and 24-year old Gregory Austin Smith of Tennessee to escape.
About 3:15 Saturday morning, a caller to 911 alert authorities to two men wearing orange clothing that were runnin from the the Escambia County (AL) Work Release Barracks. An immediate lockdown was ordered and a head count was conducted, with Hunter Madden and Smith found to be missing.
A perimeter was established and a K-9 team from the Alabama Department of Corrections was requested. Smith was found about five and one-half miles away in a wooded area. Hunter Madden was captured after he was seen exiting a wooded area and getting to a car on Pea Ridge Road.
Hunter Madden was being held on charges of failure to appear, possession of a forged instrument, attempting to elude and possession of drug paraphernalia. Smith was being held for theft of property first degree. Both are now facing an additional escape charge.
Jackson described Deidra Madden and prisoner Hunter Madden as being only distantly related through marriage.
Comments
10 Responses to “Sheriff: Corrections Officer Helped Two Prisoners Escape From Brewton Work Release Barracks”
Citizen and concerned citizen, you sound like you have an axe to grind with Sheriff Jackson. He trusts the Corrections Officers to keep the inmates in custody and she obviously violated that trust. She was arrested for committing a felony for helping them, how is that making her the scapegoat? He’s done more for the agency and the jail since he took office than the previous Sheriff did in 4 terms. They’re probably taking applications for a Correctional Officer now, head on down there today and sign up so you can straighten things out.
“Jackson described Deidra Madden and prisoner Hunter Madden as being only distantly related through marriage.”
Even distantly through marriage, wouldn’t that create a potential conflict of interests? If something like this happens outside of jail, the person helping any wanted criminal to escape or elude law enforcement would be charged with aiding and abetting, right? Not saying she’s guilty, just wondering how she was even in that place to begin with.
she won’t have to worry about buying clothes now since she will be wearing orange for awhile.
As a past corrections officer for the escambia county jail in Brewton, I can tell you that unless they fixed the door to the work release barracks, the door very easily doesn’t shut unless it’s slammed. A lot of times it would just bounce off of its own lock. As far as that goes hardly any of the doors work the way they are supposed to in that jail. “Master control” or the “cube” can’t even remotely unlock most of the doors majority of the time. So unless there has been some major changes in the past few years then I wouldn’t assume anything until it is thoroughly investigated and cameras are watched.
Apparently if I had to guess sheriff Jackson has evidence that she helped them escape Jackson is and has always been a stand up guy iam sure he acted appropriately to this matter KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK SHERIFF JACKSON
@ Citizen
Maybe you’re correct…..
But it’s a high probability that a detention facility has cameras and stored footage to see what may have happened.
It’s a shame that after three escapes from the same facility within one year they feel the need to cast blame on a corrections officer with over twenty years of honorable service. To take the word of a convicted felon over an honorable officer is a shame!
Maybe the ADOC should look into the ratio of inmates to correctional officers at this facility. This isn’t the first escape of inmates from inside the barracks. It appears to be the third escape since Sheriff Jackson has been elected. The detention center has 153 beds, but currently houses 395 inmates. One has to question if this was yet another toxic combination of overcrowding and understaffing, rather than an officer facilitating an escape. It’s sad that Officer Madden has to be the scapegoat for Jackson.
Deidra Will get off scot free.
If you are a prison guard and an inmate ask you to leave a door open so they can escape, first check with your supervisor and get their opinion on whether this is a good idea or not.