Jailbreak ends in tragedy for prison lovers

Corrections officer Vicky White risked it all when she fell for violent inmate Casey White - but their romance would leave one of them dead

- GAIL SHORTLAND

After almost two decades of working as a prison corrections officer at the Lauderdale County Jail in Florence, Alabama, Vicky White had reached the day of her retirement. Vicky, 56, had been a model employee and was respected by her colleagues – often winning the employee of the year award. After years of cells, prisoners and courthouses, Vicky said she was looking forward to moving closer to the beach.

It was 29 April 2022, and Vicky had only recently submitted her retirement papers, so they weren’t finalised, but staff knew it was her last day. In the morning, Vicky announced to colleagues that she would be taking an inmate to a scheduled mental health evaluation at a courthouse in Florence. It was unusual for a prisoner to have less than two officers accompanying them, but Vicky was a senior member of staff so wasn’t questioned.

The inmate was Casey White – no relation to Vicky. White, 38, was awaiting trial for murder, but he already had an extensive criminal history. In 2012, he received time in prison for beating a man with a weapon. Then in 2016, he was sentenced to 75 years for breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home, killing her dog and holding her, and two other people, hostage.

White had been serving his time in William Donaldson Correctional Facility in Jefferson County when, in 2020, he allegedly confessed that he’d been involved in the 2015 stabbing of Connie Ridgeway, 59, from Rogersville, Alabama. Connie had been beaten and stabbed to death in what White claimed was a murder-for-hire.

While his alleged confession was investigated, White was moved to Vicky’s Lauderdale County Jail in 2020 for questioning. He was charged with two counts of capital murder and after three months, he was sent back to William Donaldson.