Escaped Con

"Officials link bad latch with escape." Funny, I would link "handcuff key" with escape. Or maybe "incomplete or non-existent search."

Sheriff Castle admits "this could have turned out really bad." Know what? It did. Just because no one was hurt doesn't change the fact that umpteen thousands of dollars were spent chasing down a guy who was suspected to have a key to his handcuffs "eight months ago."

Here's how it should work. They review the videotape. They determine whether the person who had the specific responsibility to make sure this specific prisoner was searched actually searched him. If not, he or she loses their job. Period. If they conducted an adequate search, but were outsmarted, then impose some reasonable disciplinary measure.

If, on the other hand, there is no specific plan or system extant that places the responsibility for searching this particular inmate on one particular corrections officer, then Sheriff Castle loses his job. Because if no one is specifically responsible, it's only a matter of time before someone will be missed. And that's bad management. And someone could have died.