DES MOINES – AFSCME Iowa Council 61 President Danny Homan released the following statement regarding the escape of David Leroy Kreider from a Sioux City work-release facility on Thursday, November 7th:
“Mr. Kreider’s escape is yet another sign that Governor Branstad and Director Baldwin’s inmate classification system is broken and endangers the public. Mr. Kreider was convicted of a violent crime and was placed on work release. After escaping from work release in July 2012, he was put back in a work release program and has now escaped again.
“In order to avoid addressing severe understaffing in our prisons, the governor and corrections director are pushing inmates into community-based corrections, which are also understaffed, before those inmates are ready.
“Escapes from work release facilities are currently common place. Since the beginning of September, there have been at least ten reported escapes from work-release facilities in Waterloo, Des Moines (two escapes), West Union, Fort Dodge, Davenport, Ottumwa (three escapes), and Sioux City.
“Similar escapes from work-release facilities occurred in Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Waterloo and Davenport during months prior to September. The escape of a Clarinda Correctional Facility inmate led to a sheriff’s deputy being shot, a couple being taken hostage, and the inmate’s death.
“Governor Branstad and Director Baldwin’s classification and staffing policies are endangering Iowans. Iowa’s corrections staff are working hard to protect Iowans but are being let down by the governor and the corrections director. Branstad and Baldwin’s failure to change these policies is highly irresponsible and a breach of their duty to protect Iowans.”
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Background – Escapes from Work Release Facilities since the beginning of September:
David Leroy Kreider escaped from a Sioux City Work Release Facility on 11/7/2013
Orlando Rodriguez escaped from Fort Des Moines Work Release Facility on 11/3/2013
Michael Christopher Lewis escaped from a work release in Davenport on 10/24/2013
Donald Shawn Fountain escaped from a work release facility in Ottumwa on 10/12/2013
Cody Edward Beason escaped from a work release facility in Ottumwa on 9/26/2013
Robert Thomas Andrews escaped from a work release facility in Ottumwa on 9/21/2013
Dennis Daniel Rees escaped from Fort Dodge Work Release Facility on 9/16/2013
Corey Dreier from Des Moines Work Release Facility on 9/8/2013
Bryan Keller from West Union Work Release Facility on 9/7/2013
Lloyd James Allen III escaped from a Waterloo work release facility on 9/2/2013
This article is dishonest at best. These are unlocked facilities people are running away all the time.
The more money spent in corrections the more people that end up in prison. In 1972 there were 1800 people in prison in Iowa. Today after spending billions to fix that problem we have 10,000 people in prison.
So these guys “escaped” from a work release facility. Does that mean while out working, because they are on “work release” they failed to return to the facility and have now “escaped”?
If this is the case, can anyone tell me how hiring more “union workers” would have made a difference?
Really dog? 10 people run away and so you want to spend 10’s of millions to incarcerate them. If we ended this nonsensical “war on drugs” we’d have PLENTY of prison space for violent offenders.
We don’t want that because we’ve grown accustomed to feeling superior of certain people…those people. Those low life druggies who use drugs that aren’t OUR drugs. Why is this? It’s because most of us just plain suck.
How did we get convicts running away from work release programs to Obamacare? Could someone explain that to me, please?
Keep something in mind, LVS. Obama at least got something passed, knowing it could be the biggest black mark on his presidency. You can’t succeed if you never try. Bush never even tried. I think the words “national health care” scared him to death. A little over his head.
You are correct, it will be a black mark on Obabama’s presidency. National health care is where this thing is going to end up. This was a planned law to put all Insurance companies out of business. It will happen, the way the law is written, it is not insurance. It would have been less expensive for us to keep what we had and just pay for the the people that could not find coverage, it was a very small percent of people in the first place. It would have been very easy just to put them on medicaid with increased coverage and leave the rest of us alone.
Putting all health care insurance companies out off business would be a good thing. Everyone should have medicare. It would save just about everyone a lot of money. Why on earth should a middle man (insurance company) make money off of my health?
@DR, And I am also paying taxes for medicare,even though I don’t use it. It will not survive the way it is if everyone is on it. I also know that medicaid is not the answer, I have a friend that had to drive to Clarksville to go to a doctor that would take him.
@DR Dunn-what you are saying sounds good on the surface. But, I can tell you that after working and living in both Canada and Mexico where they have socialized medicine, it just does not work. The doctors and even nurses quickly lose the incentive to do more as there is no reward for excelling. You will die standing in line waiting to get into a doctor. It is great if you have a broken arm or a cold but not if you have anything serious. That is why the rich Canadians and Mexicans come here for care when they are seriously sick. The average and poor people just die.
LVS – To reinforce your observation regarding Canadian & Mexican health care, while living in another community, our family’s physicians were from Canada who immigrated to the US to get out from under the system there. They were excellent physicians and a real loss to Canada.
@4ever49-They are really nice people up there and I enjoyed my two years I spent there working. But their health care really does suck and that is what they are trying to do here. I even took out immigration papers while there because that was the only way you could get health care. They are very picky on who they let in to the country. If you are sick or have a serious disease they will not let you in. It would shoot immigration reform here down in a hurry. Any illegals with a illness would be sent back where they came from.
Of course the unions blame Branstad for their own mistakes. It is just like Osama Obama blaming bush for all the things he does wrong. I think it is Bush’s fault that Obamacare is such a failure.