Corrections officer
Brent Lumley
Facts of the Crime:
On the early afternoon of March 7, 1997, corrections officer Brent Lumley was minutes from finishing an overtime shift at the Perryville Prison Complex. As he was wrapping up some reports, several inmates distracted Lumley just enough for another prisoner, Leroy D. Cropper, to sneak up and plunge a knife into the side of Lumley's neck.
The slaying rocked the state Department of Corrections. There was an uproar about faulty cell locks, a lack of funding and lax safety standards.
On May 2, 2008, more than 11 years after the killing, Cropper was sentenced to death.
Another prisoner had to "spin the lock" on Cropper's cell so the killer could sneak out, and still other prisoners distracted Lumley while he was writing reports, giving Cropper the opportunity to kill the five-year veteran corrections officer.
Eugene Long received a life sentence after he was convicted of first-degree murder for his role in the slaying; Bruce Howell received a 10-year sentence for his role; and Dino Kyzar got 21 years for conspiring in the crime.
Cropper was sentenced to death on May 2, 2008.
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