Correction officer dies as Delaware prison standoff ends

A corrections officer taken hostage Wednesday by inmates in a Delaware prison died today after police broke into the facility to end the standoff. Officials have not yet said how the man died. Another hostage corrections officer survived and is being treated at a local hospital. The inmates released two other officers during the standoff. Prisoners at the James T. Vaughn Correction Center in Smyrna, Del., seized the four corrections officers and an unknown number of other inmates on Wednesday, citing concerns over their treatment and the country’s new leadership. Officials have not said how many prisoners participated in the takeover. In a call to a local newspaper, one of the inmates cited education for prisoners as a top priority, along with effective rehabilitation and transparency about the allocation of prison funding. Gov. John Carney said the perpetrators would be held responsible but also pledged officials would “make whatever changes are necessary to ensure nothing like it ever happens again.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.