Regular prison operations resume
LUZERNE TWP. – Operations are back to normal at the State Correctional Institute at Fayette, ending a two-day lock down at the prison. Mary Ann Kushner, a spokeswoman for the state prison, said officials are attempting to reinstate normal operating procedures throughout the prison.
Exercise and visitation privileges were reinstated Monday, she said.
Department of Corrections officials locked down the entire facility following a yard fight Friday evening that injured three correction officers and three inmates. Although none of the injuries were life threatening, all six people were treated at Uniontown Hospital and released.
The inmates used makeshift knives in the fight, prompting officials to call in three Correctional Emergency Response Teams to thoroughly search the prison for contraband and weapons.
In a press release, Kushner said the prison was searched while in lock down mode and that nuisance contraband and homemade weapons were found.
Three days before the yard fight, an inmate using a metal shank as a weapon attacked two correction officers. Both officers suffered lacerations and puncture wounds and were treated at Uniontown Hospital and released.
Prison officials said the yard fight Friday evening was not related to the incident earlier in the week.