The drama of seven convicts who escaped from a Texas maximum-security prison in December and allegedly killed a police officer in succession Christmas Eve has kept the geographical division enthralled.

The drama of seven convicts who escaped from a Texas maximum-security prison in December and allegedly killed a police officer in succession Christmas Eve has kept the geographical division enthralled. It was a bizarre story - as well as a sad and tragic individual Its conclusion involved negotiations from a television anchorman leading to the relinquish of the final two convicts forward Jan. 24. Another convict had killed himself along the way.

steady as the drama was unfolding, tough questions emerg about for what cause such an escape could happen. Not surprisingly, questions arose above prison security.

Specifically, a state report onward the escape found the following:

- prison staff failed to report unsupervised inmates;

- guards failed to recognize inmates disguised as civilians; and

- security officers failed to be agreeable to adequately to a fire alarm (which had been triggered by means of prison employees who had escaped the hostage-takers).

The state report says inmates began the breakout