Jan 20, 2016 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – A plan to electrify the fence that surrounds Greene County jail is one of several security upgrades coming to the facility after a prisoner escaped in December.

Jail Warden Harry Gillispie told the county’s prison board Wednesday he is soliciting a proposal from Electric Guard Dog LLC that would install electric wires at the top of the perimeter fence and other places around the jail in Franklin Township.

If installed, the jail would be the first in the state to utilize an electric fence, Gillispie said.

The system would send 7,000 volts of electricity through wires located at the top of the fence to deter an escaping inmate. It would also contain sensors to alert staff when someone makes contact with the wires. Gillispie did not know the cost to lease the equipment and install the system, which would be powered by solar panels and backup batteries on the roof of the jail.

The upgrade comes in response to Waylon Hanlan’s escape from the jail Dec. 27. State police arrested Hanlan two days after his escape, along with three of his siblings who are accused of aiding him as he eluded authorities. Hanlan, who was serving nine months in jail for a probation violation, is now facing felony charges of escape and conspiracy.

“He was a minimum security inmate,” Gillispie said. “He’d been there before and was never a problem,” Gillispie said. “It was spontaneous.”

Gillispie said Hanlan used a razor blade from his shaving utensil to cut a hole into a vinyl wall inside a bathroom stall at the jail’s minimum security G-block where he and about 15 other low-risk inmates were being housed.

Gillispie said a corrections officer viewing surveillance footage noticed a light off inside the bathroom stall and saw movement, prompting another officer to check the area before locating the hole in the wall.

That officer then performed a “head count” as other officers began responding to the block. As they were about halfway into the courtyard, they heard a noise and then saw Hanlan drop onto the other side of the fence and run from the property. Gillispie said Hanlan laid a blanket and coat over the razor wire to avoid serious injury, although he still sustained cuts from the incident.

Gillispie said the escape occurred so quickly – less than 90 seconds from when the officer found the cut in the wall and when Hanlan jumped over the fence – that there was little the staff could do to prevent the escape.

“The staff followed proper procedures,” he said. “They did what they’re supposed to do.”

The G-block “tent” was repaired shortly after the escape, Gillispie said. The staff is now trying to determine whether it should exchange the plastic shavers with razor blades for electric trimmers, although Gillispie said those would pose a variety of other issues.

In addition to electrifying the top of the fence, Gillispie said they have installed additional razor wire in certain areas.

He said they also are interested in upgrading the video surveillance system, which currently runs on a 5-second delay, to allow officers to view live footage. Gillispie said the jail is awaiting a proposal from Morgantown Security & Fire for the new surveillance system.

“We’re humans,” Gillispie said of the escape. “In this case, someone just didn’t get there fast enough.”