Mississippi lawmaker seeks investigation of prison escape

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A Mississippi lawmaker is asking the attorney general’s office to investigate how a convicted murderer escaped from prison earlier this month.

Republican Sen. Dennis DeBar of Leakesville says the escape of Michael F. Wilson was “very traumatic” for people who live near South Mississippi Correctional Institution.

Wilson, also known as “Pretty Boy Floyd,” escaped July 5 from the prison in Greene County. He was captured July 7 in Ocean Springs, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) south of the prison.

DeBar says he thinks the Mississippi Department of Corrections “may not conduct a fair and impartial review.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections did not immediately return messages seeking comment Monday.

Wilson is now in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, in the northern part of the state.

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