Correctional Misconduct
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Dec 6, 2023
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Correctional Misconduct: Vicky White Case
Ophelia L. West
DeVry University
CRMJ425- Justice Administration
Ethics and Criminal Justice
Professor Margaret Russell
April 9, 2023
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Correctional Misconduct
The case I will be presenting is that of Vicky White and her helping Casey White escape
prison. Casey White was a prisoner at the Alabama Lauderdale County Jail. He was jailed for
numerous crimes but at the time of his escape, he was charged with the capital murder of Connie
Ridgeway. A crime to which he confessed, stating that he was hired to murder her, however, it
took him five years to confess. While he spent his time in the Lauderdale jail, he met Corrections
Officer Vicky White. There is no family relation between Casey and Vicky.
Vicky White was a Corrections Officer at the Lauderdale County Jail; she was a model
employee for two decades. She was the second in command at the jail, this gave her a lot of
privileges. Vicky was 54 years old and set to retire before she helped Casey White escape.
During her time as a CO at Lauderdale, she struck up a relationship ship with Mr. White. There
was never a physical relationship between the two but there was a special connection.
The misconduct started long before the escape. Other inmates would notice that Mr.
White would be treated better than anyone else. Vicky would use her privileges to get Mr. White
extra food. At one point Mr. White was moved to another prison and the two kept in contact
through phone calls. These calls lasted about two years until the day that Vicky was going to
retire. On that day she helped Casey White escape.
On April 29
th
, 2020. Vicky White arrived at her last day of work at the Lauderdale Jail.
She had devised a plan with Casey White to leave the jail, “Vicky White said she was taking
Casey White to a courthouse for a mental health evaluation and would then go get medical care
because she wasn’t feeling well.” Elassar, A., Yan, H.
Once it was realized that Casey White had
escaped an investigation was launched.
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Through the investigation, they found that an elaborate plan was made between Ms.
White and Mr. White. Vicky had sold her home just a few weeks before, at a price well below
value. Then, Police found that she then used that money to purchase a Ford F-150. Later they
found that “The pair had a cache of weapons — four handguns and several semi-automatic
weapons, including an AR-15 — Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding said.” Burke, M.
Taking Casey for a mental health check-up and her having a doctor appointment were
lies, as no appointments were ever made. The escape didn’t last long though as Casey was
spotted washing the truck one day. This led to a police chase with the duo. The chase ended, in
Indiana when Mr. White crashed the truck and exited the vehicle willingly. Unfortunately, while
he was exiting the truck Vicky White took her own life, with one of the many firearms that they
had. Casey White went back to federal prison and is now being tried for the death of Connie
Ridgeway and Vicky White.
While there is no good explanation as to why Vick helped Casey escape, there are
speculations. The one thing that is known is that there was a lot of misconduct on Ms. Whites’
part. For starters, she should not have been contacting an inmate through phone calls once he was
moved to another unit. Another thing is that she allowed Mr., White special privileges, like extra
food or more rec time.
The largest misconduct behavior was when she was leaving with him.
She took Casey by herself and that was “a violation of the policy requiring two sworn deputies to
transport people under those charges, the sheriff said.”
(Stelloh & Fieldstadt, 2022)
The belief is that Vicky White was manipulated and coerced by Casey White into giving him
better treatment and then the escape. Vicky was a widow and living alone when she met Casey.
Her loneliness may have been the way Casey was able to connect with Vicky. Maybe, she
thought that she was falling in love with him, or maybe she was convinced of his innocence or
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4
even, just wanted to protect him. Anything could be true, but we won’t ever know. I believe that
the ethical theory, in this case, is Utilitarianism. It is something that is usually described by most
police officers, but this went to the extreme.
Vicky used her position in the prison, to help an inmate. While that is not always a bad
thing, she initiated a relationship and then proceeded to plan and execute an escape. If the
misconduct was noticed sooner, then maybe the event could have been avoided.
Worst of all was the fact that on her last day at work, she did not follow protocol. This
leads me to question whether anyone cared was this just a common occurrence, for her to
transport felons on her own? If it was unusual, then why would no one ask her, or was it because
it was her last day before retirement or her top position in the jail? Maybe it was both.
The quickness with which the investigation was started was great. The police knew
whom Casey had left with and started with that information. From there it was really a matter of
just finding them. It may have taken 11 days because Vicky probably knew of ways to stay off
the radar. Thankfully though an astute worker at a car wash, noticed Mr. White and called the
authorities. It is sad that Vicky felt the need to take her own life, but she had to know the
consequences of her actions, and that may have been why she did it.
Casey knew the consequences as well but just ignored them or just didn’t care. He was
already serving 75 years on another charge before he confessed to the murder of Connie
Ridgeway. A confession that took him years to make and claimed he was paid to murder her.
Now he will stand trial for that murder, have years added on for the escape, and just recently was
charged with the murder of Vicky White. The charge for Vicky seems strange since she took her
own life, however, “
The indictment, according to court documents, alleged while
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committing the crime of first-degree escape, Casey White “caused the death of Vicky
White.” (McLaughlin, 2022) He plans to plead not guilty, and the trials have yet to start.
References
Burke, M. (2022, May 11).
Vicky White, ex-corrections officer accused of helping Alabama
inmate escape, died by suicide, Coroner says
. NBCNews.com. Retrieved April 9, 2023,
from
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/vicky-white-ex-corrections-officer-accused-
helping-alabama-inmate-esca-rcna28133
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Elassar, A., & Yan, H. (2022, May 10).
Vicky White morphed from a respected officer to a
fugitive who allegedly helped an inmate escape. here's what we know about her life before
her sudden death
. CNN. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/06/cnn-info/vicky-white-what-we-know-alabama-inmate-
disappear/index.html
McLaughlin, E. C. (2022, July 13).
Ex-fugitive's murder charge in Alabama jailer's suicide has
attorneys scratching their heads
. CNN. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/13/us/casey-white-charges-vicky-white/index.html
Remkus, A. (2023, February 16).
During murder trials, Casey White won't be held in jail Vicky
White helped him escape from
. al. Retrieved April 9, 2023, from
https://www.al.com/news/2023/02/during-murder-trials-casey-white-wont-be-held-in-jail-
vicky-white-helped-him-escape-from.html
Stelloh, T., & Fieldstadt, E. (2022, May 10).
Ex-corrections officer Vicky White Dead, Alabama
murder suspect Casey White in custody after Chase in Indiana
. NBCNews.com. Retrieved
April 9, 2023, from
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/photos-show-alabama-
fugitive-washing-truck-indiana-authorities-confirm-rcna28025
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