JACKSON COUNTY, Indiana — The Jackson County jailer who resigned after an inmate escaped from the jail is telling her side of the incident.
Sheri Ray has worked in corrections for 12 years but had only been at the Jackson County jail for three weeks before resigning.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office said Ray was in the control room when inmate Daniel Aaron Coomer escaped. Ray said she does not think she unlocked the door the inmate escaped from but says if she did it was not intentional.
According to Ray, she was supposed to be shadowed by a senior officer, but due to budget restraints and understaffing, she was on her own.
Ray said she did not know she had control over the doors in the recreation area where Coomer was before he escaped. She also said she did not know the door led outside of the jail.
Though she resigned following the incident, Ray still has the utmost respect for Sheriff Rick Meyer and his staff. She wants the focus to be on getting the jail the funding it needs to prevent more accidents from happening.
“I don't know if I opened that door. I don't think I did, but I don't know if I did. The main situation is the fact they need to have more staff so that better training can go through and they need to have more funding so that there is more safety equipment,” Ray said.
Police were able to arrest Coomer 23 hours after his escape.
Ray said she would like to work in corrections in the future.
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