(LEX 18) — A newly released 14-page report details the death of 48-year-old inmate Marvin Knuckles, who fell down a cliff while on a snow removal detail at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex on January 27.
The Critical Incident Review team under the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet compiled the report, which includes photos and findings from the area where Knuckles fell.
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According to the report, Knuckles was working on a special detail crew with two other inmates supervised by one guard around 1:11 a.m. on January 27. The crew was working to remove snow and ice from the prison grounds.
Knuckles fell to his death near the right front corner of a building next to a snow- and ice-covered cliff, landing next to Kentucky State Route 460. He was transported by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that morning.
The report states Knuckles was trying to go to the restroom outside or get a metal bar to break up salt. Moisture-induced clumping caused the salt spreader to clog, forcing the crew to stop and manually break up the salt.
Investigators noted a gap in a guardrail and mentioned there was no camera, no lighting, and no signage warning of the dangerous slope. The report cited hazardous conditions caused by snow and ice as contributing factors.
"I want them to be held accountable for my brother's death because my brother didn't have to die the way that he had to die, and it's all uncalled for," Rita Alexander, Knuckles' sister, said.
Noel Caldwell, the attorney representing Knuckles' estate, said the prison was negligent due to the lack of safety measures.
"If you work at that prison and even if you're a member of the community you know that prison is surrounded by massive cliffs and to not even have a protective fence there is one thing but then to allow a guard or not a guard but an inmate to go on the side of this building for whatever purpose where there is no lighting, you know there's snow and ice, and to allow that to happen is, is, is pure negligence, pure negligence," Caldwell said.
Caldwell said the report mentioned the review team could not safely measure the steepness of the slope or the distance of the fall due to the snow and ice.
"They conducted this investigation on February 9 and February 10, and the conditions were still too dangerous for them to even take that step to go measure how tall this cliff was," Caldwell said.
To prevent future accidents, the review team recommends installing a 6-foot-tall, 500-linear-foot fence with top and bottom rails in the area where Knuckles fell. The fence would serve as a safety barrier outside the secure perimeter of the facility. The team also recommends installing signage that reads, "No Entry Beyond This Point – Dangerous Slope."
"Now they're wanting to put up a fence and put up, uh, signs and hit that dangerous. Why wasn't that done years ago for the inmates and the employees there, knowing that that's there," Alexander said.
