GUILTY TX - Officer Mari Johnson, 55, found slain at Abilene prison, 16 July 2016

Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials found the body of correctional officer Mari Johnson on Saturday at the French Robertson Unit in Abilene. They allege that Compton, who is serving time for aggravated sexual assault of a child, attacked Johnson as she entered the prison's storage area near the kitchen.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/crim...s-named-suspect-in-prison-officer-killing.ece

http://www.odmp.org/officer/22905-corrections-officer-mari-johnson

According to a press release from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 55-year-old Correctional Officer Mari Johnson was found unresponsive near the kitchen area of the Robertson Unit in Abilene, Texas, around 5 a.m. Saturday. She was transported to the Hendrick Medical Center where she was declared dead.

http://www.people.com/article/femal...as-prison-homicide-investigation-mari-johnson

Correctional Officer Death at the Robertson Unit


(Abilene, TX) – On Saturday, July 16, 2016, at approximately 3 a.m., a Correctional Officer at the Robertson Unit in Abilene, Texas, was found unresponsive near the kitchen area of the prison. Life saving measures were immediately initiated and 55 year old Correctional Officer Mari Johnson was transported to Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene where she was pronounced deceased. The Office of Inspector General – TDCJ is investigating the incident as a homicide.


"Correctional officers have one of the most difficult jobs in all of state government protecting the public from dangerous individuals," said Brad Livingston, Executive Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "Each day thousands of men and women in gray are carrying out that critical mission. This is a tragic reminder that carrying out that mission can lead to the ultimate sacrifice. Ms. Johnson made the ultimate sacrifice to keep this state safe. She will never be forgotten. We will see that the offender who committed this cowardly act is held accountable."


"In times like these, it's difficult to put into words the loss felt by the department when a correctional officer dies in the line of duty," said Dale Wainwright, Chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice. "I ask the public to remember their acts of unselfishness, remember their many acts of courage, and remember the dedication and commitment demonstrated every day by correctional officers. Please pray for this officer's friends, family, and the department during this time."


Investigators with the Office of Inspector General – TDCJ are at the location and processing the crime scene. As this is an ongoing criminal investigation, the agency will not be releasing any additional information at this time.


Officer Johnson began employment with the agency in August 2009.

http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/announcements/announce_officer_death.html

“The state of Texas mourns for Mari Johnson, a correctional officer who was senselessly murdered last night by an inmate,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott posted to Twitter on Saturday night.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mari-johnson-prison-guard-texas_us_578b3545e4b03fc3ee512c16

[video=twitter;754415552399941633]https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/754415552399941633[/video]

'Texas will ensure the perpetrator receives swift justice, and TDCJ has been instructed to take all necessary measures to enhance the safety of their staff to prevent such tragedies.'
Johnson's death comes a year after the last on-duty slaying of a Texas corrections officer.
Timothy Davison, 38, was attacked by an inmate in July 2015 at the Telford Unit near Texarkana in far northeast Texas.




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tions-officer-Texas-prison.html#ixzz4EmnGhV3N
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An inmate who worked in the kitchen area of the French Robertson Unit 10 miles northeast of Abilene killed correctional officer Mari Johnson, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice alleged in a statement Monday.

Inmate Dillion Gage Compton, 21, who worked in the prison's kitchen area, attacked Johnson when she entered a storage area, according to the department. Johnson, 55, was found unresponsive early Saturday and later pronounced dead.

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https://www.texastribune.org/2016/07/18/prisons-agency-says-inmate-sex-offender-killed-cor/

Murder of a corrections officer is a capital offense in Texas, punishable by LWOP or the death penalty.

An inmate who worked in the kitchen area of the French Robertson Unit 10 miles northeast of Abilene killed correctional officer Mari Johnson, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice alleged in a statement Monday.

Inmate Dillion Gage Compton, 21, attacked Johnson when she entered a storage area, according to the department. Johnson, 55, was found unresponsive early Saturday and later pronounced dead. She began working for the department in 2009.

Compton is serving a 25-year prison sentence related to a 2011 conviction in Dallas County of aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14, according to the agency.

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https://www.texastribune.org/2016/07/18/prisons-agency-says-inmate-sex-offender-killed-cor/

Wow !!! I think sexual offenders, murderers, kidnappers (basically anyone who causes death or serious harm to anyone) should NOT have special privileges like working in the kitchen or the laundry while in jail! Why should they be allowed to pass the time doing anything?? They should have to sit there and deal with what they've done! Those privileges should be going to the people who might actually have a chance of turning their life around and becoming members of society... All this is JMO...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

R.i.p Mari

MANSFIELD, Texas - Law enforcement from across the country said goodbye Friday to a corrections officer murdered at an Abilene prison unit.

Friends, family members and co-workers of 55-year-old Mari Johnson filled the First Baptist Church in Mansfield for Friday's funeral service, with some officers coming from as far as New York and California.

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http://m.ktxs.com/news/corrections-officer-murdered-at-abilene-prison-unit-remembered/40841892

*related*

There was fallout Wednesday night at the French Robertson Prison Unit one month after a corrections officer was killed on the job.

The disciplinary actions came from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice after a serious incident review.

The TDCJ suspended a high-ranking member of the Robertson Unit staff and recommended the termination of three other employees after 55-year-old corrections officer Mari Johnson was murdered.

Click to expand...

http://www.ktxs.com/news/former-corrections-officer-says-robertson-unit-understaffed/50396255

From last month:

State seeks death penalty for man accused of killing correctional officer

http://www.ktxs.com/news/state-seeks-death-penalty-for-man-accused-of-killing-correctional-officer/358113704

A man accused of killing a Texas Department of Criminal Justice officer was indicted for capital murder by a Jones County grand jury Friday, and according to Jones County District Attorney Joe Edd Boaz, the state will be seeking the death penalty.

TDCJ says Dillion Gage Compton, 22, killed Marianne Johnson on July 16. Johnson was found unresponsive near a kitchen at the French Robertson Unit in Abilene.

Leni Atkinson, Johnson’s sister, said Compton was allowed to work with her in the kitchen alone.

“It's just disheartening to know that she died in just a vicious manner," Atkinson said.

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https://www.correctionsone.com/capital-punishment/articles/295732187-State-seeks-death-penalty-in-death-of-Texas-CO/

Atkinson believes the Texas Department of Criminal Justice should be held accountable as well because she doesn’t “think TDCJ has done their due diligence in making this right for any of us.”

According to KTXS, the assistant warden was suspended for seven days and put on probation for four months following the attack. An officer and two food service managers were fired as well.

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Jones County District Attorney will seek death penalty in murder of corrections officer

The Jones County District Attorney's Office said it will seek the death penalty against Dillion Gage Compton for the murder of a corrections officer. It will be the first death penalty case in Jones County in 29 years.

During a pretrial hearing on Friday, the court set a trial date for August 13.

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Man accused of killing Abilene corrections officer transferred to Taylor County Jail

Dillion Gage Compton was transferred from the Allred Unit in Wichita Falls to the Taylor County Jail on Friday.

His capital murder trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 1 in Anson.

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Jury selection underway for Jones County capital murder trial

More than 1,400 people were summoned as potential jurors for the capital murder trial of 24-year-old Dillion Gage Compton.

Compton's trial is scheduled to begin on October 1 in Anson.

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The Jones County District Attorney is getting ready for a capital murder trial that is set to begin in Anson on Monday morning.

Dillion Gage Compton is charged with killing correctional officer Marianne Johnson back in 2016.

Authorities have spent the last month assembling a jury out of the 1,400 people summoned to jury duty for the trial.

This particular jury will potentially be the difference between life or death for Compton.

Jones County capital murder trial to begin on Monday morning

Capital Murder Trial Opens in Death of Texas Prison Guard

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-st...er-trial-opens-in-death-of-texas-prison-guard

A Jones County jury deliberated less than three hours Monday before finding 24-year-old Dillion Compton guilty in the death of Mari Johnson. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty when the penalty phase of his trial begins Tuesday morning.

Inmate convicted of capital murder in prison guard’s death