Second corrections officer arrested, charged in New York inmates' prison escape

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last updated 25 June 2015

A second corrections officer has been arrested and charged in connection with the escape of convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat from the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York.  

Gene Palmer has been charged with promoting dangerous prison contraband, destroying evidence, and official misconduct, his attorney, Andrew Brockway, said Wednesday. Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said that Palmer, who is on paid leave, allegedly brought frozen ground beef with smuggled tools inside to the inmates' cell area, and escorted Matt and Sweat to the catwalk area behind their cells to repair electrical breakers so they could use hot plates to cook, CNN reports. Authorities say that Matt and Sweat used the catwalks during their June 6 escape.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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