Female Corrections Officer 'Senselessly Murdered' While on Duty at Male Prison in Texas
The death of a female corrections officer at an all-male Texas prison is being investigated as a homicide.
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.
Public Information Officer Robert Hurst tells PEOPLE that the investigation is ongoing and no suspect has been named at this time. The circumstances surrounding her death are also currently unclear.
Texas governor Greg Abbott called the killing an "unfathomably tragic event" in a statement.
"The State of Texas mourns for Mari Johnson, a correctional officer who was senselessly murdered last night," Abbott said. "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."
"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."
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Robertson Unit houses nearly 3,000 inmates, most of whom are serving sentences related to aggravated robbery, burglary and sexual assault of a minor, according to Texas Tribune prison data. Johnson began employment with the agency in August 2009, the TDCJ said.
Johnson is the second on-duty death of a correction officer in Texas in the past year. An inmate beat rookie guard Timothy Davison, 47, to death while he escorting the prisoner back to his cell at the Telford Unit last summer.
