CORRECTION OFFICERS FIRED, FACE SMUGGLING CHARGES

Three correctional officers will face charges for allegedly bringing drugs
into two penal institutions in Hardeman County this month.

Ashley Kinnon and Shounda Palmer were fired from the Whiteville Correctional
Facility on Monday after their Saturday arrest for smuggling marijuana into
the Whiteville Correctional Facility.

In a separate case, Patricia Cole, 51, of Jackson, is also facing charges of
introducing contraband into a penal institution, possession of marijuana and
possession of cocaine. Cole was a GED teacher at the Hardeman County
Correctional Facility.

Palmer, 22, was arrested after jail security officers discovered she had two
packages of marijuana, wrapped in duct tape and concealed inside of potato
chip cans. She told police that she had been operating with her co-worker,
Kinnon, in bringing the drugs into the facility.

Palmer started working at the Whiteville Correctional Facility on March 15
and Kinnon began last October, Public Information Officer Stacy Hensley said
Wednesday afternoon.

''Whenever employees entered the facility, they go through security and
their belongings are checked,'' Hensley said.

Before employment begins, all correctional employees undergo a background
check conducted by the state of Tennessee as well as a psychiatric
evaluation, ethics questionnaire and insight integrity tests, she added.

''Both employees passed those examinations,'' Hensley said.

Palmer and Kinnon, both of Brownsville, are charged with felony counts of
introduction of contraband into a penal institution. However, Palmer is also
charged with possession of marijuana and is being held on a $10,000 bond.
Kinnon is out on a $10,000 bond.

Investigators also believe a third person was involved with bringing drugs
into the facility, Whiteville Police Chief John Doolen said.

''We expect more charges will be filed,'' he said.

Meanwhile, Cole, who is out on a $2,500 bail, was arrested on July 1 when
insider tips led investigators to believe that a drug exchange was scheduled
between Cole and an inmate on that date.

Doolen said Cole had been suspected of bringing drugs into the facility for
several months.

Drugs were later discovered on the inmate accused of conspiring with Cole.

On average, Doolen says, his department handles between two to three
contraband cases a month between the county's two correctional facilities.

Both locations, Hardeman County and Whiteville, are privately owned by
Corrections Corporation of America and have a partnership with the Tennessee
Department of Corrections to house the state's inmates.