Security Audit Planned on Escape Anniversary

FORT MADISON, Iowa — Nearly a year after two inmates escaped, inspectors are returning to Iowa State Penitentiary at Fort Madison to see if security measures at the facility are adequate.

A two-person team from the National Institute of Corrections will visit the facility in late October, according to reports. The audit comes nearly one year after the escape of two dangerous inmates from the antiquated prison industries building. The team will spend two days reviewing the facility with a particular interest in perimeter security.

Prison officials have made efforts to increase security measures since the escape. The penitentiary is now a dawn-to-dusk operation, no longer allowing prisoners outside after dark because of poor lighting.

All prison towers are now staffed, according prison officials, and an old death row cell has been demolished. Deteriorating facilities that could also be a threat to security could be torn down, according to officials.