IBEW Local 659 (Medford OR) Questions Inmate Labor After 96 Month Sentence Becomes Death Sentence for Inmate-Line Clearance Worker

Posted: Aug 26, 2005 - 08:11:58 PDT

Inmate on [Line Clearance] work crew killed by falling tree
By Steve Card and Gail Kimberling Of the News-Times


A prison inmate who was part of a work crew in the Mapleton [Blog ed note: Oregon] area was killed Tuesday morning when a tree fell on him.

Central Lincoln Peoples Utility District had contracted with Shutter Creek Correctional Institution in North Bend to provide a work crew for clearing trees and brush from underneath power lines. Carlin Samar Wortham, 24, was one of eight inmates supervised by a correctional officer at that work site. Wortham was cutting a tree at around 10:30 a.m. when it fell the wrong way and struck him.

When the accident occurred, the correctional officer and trained inmates immediately began CPR, but Wortham was pronounced dead at the scene.
Wortham was serving 96 months for three counts of third-degree robbery and first-degree burglary in Lane County. He was convicted on Feb. 21, 2001 and was scheduled for release in February of next year.

Gary Cockrum, communications manager for Central Lincoln PUD, said there were no company employees on scene at the time of the accident. "One arrived shortly thereafter and called for help," Cockrum said.

He also noted inmate work crews from Shutter Creek "have been doing work for us since 1994, and we have had a very good experience with no problems or safety issues."

This is the first inmate fatality in the prison's 15-year history. Approximately 100 minimum-custody inmates per day are dispatched in work crews from the 250-bed prison.

The practice of using prison work crews on projects that require some degree of experience and/or training is being called into question by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers #659, the union that represents Central Lincoln PUD workers. Kelly MacDonald, assistant business manager of the electrical union, said PUD employees are specifically trained for this type of work, and Tuesday's tragedy could have been avoided. "You have unqualified people taking risks, taking work from qualified people," he said.

Cockrum acknowledged these concerns, saying, "There have been questions about what they can do; there's an overlap of areas. We have made adjustments to the scope of work they perform for us. We try to be sensitive to union members' concerns, and try to be financially realistic, as well."

He called this week's accident "a real unfortunate incident, a tragedy," and said, "We all feel bad about it. It's a valid program for both prisoners and us, and we hope it doesn't affect it."