Inmate’s suicide prompts change

Published 10:23 am Thursday, March 29, 2012

WINDSOR – The death of an inmate at Bertie Correctional Institution (BCI) has resulted in reassignments of two officials at the state-owned prison.

BCI Administrator Renoice Stancil was reassigned Monday to the prisons’ Eastern Region Office in Greenville, according to information provided by Keith Acree, a spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

Additionally, Acree said BCI Unit Manager Eric Greene was reassigned to Nash Correctional Institution on Feb. 27.

“These preliminary personnel actions were the result of a review of operations conducted at Bertie CI in the wake of an inmate suicide there on February 5.  That review is ongoing,” Acree said in an email sent to the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald after this newspaper requested information upon learning of Stancil’s reassignment.

When asked if the review of BCI revealed any lapse of protocol following the discovery that an inmate had taken his own life, Acree stated, “The review is ongoing and involves all aspects of facility operations.”

Acree added that Ricky Anderson, a retired prison administrator and former deputy director of prisons, is now the acting administrator at BCI.

Stancil, a native of Bertie County, was promoted to BCI Administrator in 2009. There he supervised a staff of approximately 400.

BCI, a close custody prison, recently expanded its 1,000-bed facility to just over 1,500 beds.

The ground-breaking for the original 1,000-bed facility was held in May of 2004 and the ribbon was cut to officially open the facility two years later.

About Cal Bryant

Cal Bryant, a 40-year veteran of the newspaper industry, serves as the Editor at Roanoke-Chowan Publications, publishers of the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, Gates County Index, and Front Porch Living magazine.

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