Arkansas Inmate Shot Dead During Escape Attempt

A convicted killer in Arkansas whose only ways out of prison were death or escape will be leaving by the former after attempting the latter. Christopher Wilson, a 41-year-old serving life without parole for beating a woman and her 8-month-old baby to death in 2002, was shot dead during an escape attempt Thursday, Arkansas Matters reports. He was shot by two guards, who will now be placed on administrative leave until the investigation is complete, at the Varner Unit in Lincoln County, KTHV reports.

An Arkansas Department of Correction spokesman says the guards followed protocol, which is to issue a verbal warning to escapees and use deadly force only as a last resort. The spokesman says the investigation has been turned over to Arkansas State Police, and the ADC will also conduct an internal investigation. KATV reports that the last time an Arkansas inmate was shot and killed by corrections officers was in 1991. The most recent escape death happened in 2013 at the same unit Wilson tried to escape from. The inmate in that case was fatally injured after becoming stuck on a fence. (A dangerous patient is still on the loose after escaping from a psychiatric hospital in Washington state.)