Better Transport Methods Needed for Prisoners

   I am writing this as I breathe a sigh of relief.  Two days ago, a violent prisoner escaped from a moving ambulance in a neighboring city.  He was being transported to a mental health facility after an evaluation at a local hospital where he was deemed as being insane.  The man had raped a 13 year old girl.

    He punched the medic in the face and jumped out of the ambulance while it was waiting at a red light.  Why was he alone with the medic?  The man has been in and out of the local jail for years and is known to be violent and have mental health issues.  There should have been a guard riding in the ambulance with him or he should have been cuffed or sedated.

    After escaping, the man stole a pickup truck that had a knife in it.  He later ditched the pickup truck and was seen in the countryside muddy and barefoot.  This caused questions because it was only 40 degrees out.  Sheriffs were finally able to track the man down and he was checked at the local hospital for hypothermia then transported to the mental health facility without incident. 

    This story brings to light the fact that better security measures are needed while transferring prisoners to other prisons and to mental hospitals.  This could have had a much more grim outcome.  Here is a link to the story: http://www2.wnct.com/lifestyles/2011/may/08/ohio-deputies-capture-man-after-ambulance-escape-ar-1015356/