Alabama prisoner is sentenced to life if he escapes with the help of an officer

An Alabama inmate who escaped from jail last spring and eluded arrest for nearly two weeks was sentenced Thursday to the rest of his life in prison, the maximum sentence for first-degree escape.

The inmate, Casey White, escaped from the Lauderdale County Jail in Florence, Alabama in May 2022. He was assisted by a detective, Vicky White, who was not related to him. After leaving prison for a courthouse appointment that was later revealed to be a ruse, they were on the run for 11 days and embarked on a nationwide manhunt that ended with his arrest and her death after a police chase in Indiana.

At a Lauderdale County courthouse on Thursday, the local CBS-affiliated channel reportedMr White, 39, said he felt like “the most hated man in the world” and that he loved Ms White, whose relatives attended the sentencing hearing and to whom he apologised.

“Vicky took me out because she said, ‘Good was good. Wrong is wrong.’ The first person to show me affection. The first person to hug me in six years,” he said. Ms White, 56, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the police chase ended in a car crash. Mr. White surrendered.

At the time, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said he believed the two had been in a “romantic relationship” for at least two years. Lawyers for Mr. White confirmed their relationship.

“We believe he’s just a master manipulator,” Chris Connolly, the Lauderdale County District Attorney, said of Mr. White.

Mr Connolly added that Ms White’s mother intended to speak in court on Thursday but was ultimately too emotional to do so.

Under Alabama law, a person can be charged with felony murder if they cause someone’s death while committing a crime such as arson, burglary or escape. But last month, in a move that surprised both the prosecution and his own defense team, Mr. White pleaded guilty to a first-degree escape charge in exchange for dropping a misdemeanor charge of murdering Mrs. White.

Mark McDaniel, a lawyer for Mr White, said in a telephone interview that he had “never had a case like this” in his 46 years as a lawyer, calling it “very unusual”. He said that Mr White had not wanted anything derogatory about Mrs White to be said in court.

“I just wanted to remind everyone,” said Mr. McDaniel, “she had the keys.” He added: “Everyone was talking about how bad Casey is. Well, he was in the cage and she had the keys.

At the time of his escape, Mr White was awaiting trial for the fatal stabbing of a woman in 2015, This is reported by the US Marshals Service; he will be tried in August. He had already served a 75-year sentence at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Jefferson County, Alabama, for prior convictions including two carjackings, multiple shootings and kidnapping.

The life sentence for first-degree escape will be served concurrently with Mr White’s 75-year sentence, Mr McDaniel explained, “so that he may be eligible for parole at some point in his life.”

Mr Connolly noted that Mr White will not be eligible for parole until 2081 and that the judge has ordered that Mr White or any person acting on his behalf “receive any money they may receive based on his committing this crime” must be disclosed. ”, in case books or movies emerge from the national attention the case has received.

“We would file a civil suit and ask the court to confiscate that money,” he said.