Aunt of slain prison worker blames governor, DPS secretary for nephew’s death

The aunt of one of the workers killed by inmates at the Pasquotank Correctional Institution during an attempted prison escape is demanding change in the wake of her nephew’s death.

Geoffrey Howe died on Nov. 2, 2017, from injuries sustained in an attack from four inmates as they attempted to escape Pasquotank.

According to an internal report of the attack, obtained exclusively by WBTV, the inmates used a claw hammer and other tools to attack Howe and three corrections officers in a sewing plant where the inmates worked at the prison.

The internal report shows it took 20 minutes from the start of the attack for other prison employees to respond. Howe, the report states, was attacked by the inmates 17 minutes into the incident.

Now Howe’s aunt, Nancy Peck, is speaking out about what happened to her nephew.

“I’m really disappointed in the governor,” Peck said. “The leadership has been negligent.”

Peck said she and her family are particularly outraged that senior corrections leadership in the Cooper administration didn’t do more to enhance protections for prison employees after an incident at the Bertie Correctional Institution in April 2017 that killed Sgt. Meggan Callahan.

Through a spokeswoman, North Carolina Secretary of Public Safety Erik Hooks said he was too busy to speak with WBTV for an interview in response to Howe’s family.

But WBTV tracked down Gov. Roy Cooper at an event to ask him questions for this story. He did not directly respond to Howe’s family but did say he had spoken with them on the phone.

This story was originally published November 15, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Aunt of slain prison worker blames governor, DPS secretary for nephew’s death."