The
private firm that runs the state youth lockup at Alexander where
a teenager died says three employees received reprimands and two
top managers have lost their jobs. Houston-based Cornell
Companies Incorporated also said it had implemented an action
plan that includes better orientation and training procedures
for all staff. The company said today it also put into effect an
organizational chart with clearly defined lines of authority, in
response to the April death of 17 year old LaKeisha Brown.
The company said in a report last week that problems it found in
an internal investigation did not directly cause the girl's
death at the Alexander Youth Services Center. Cornell said
executive managers reviewed the internal investigation as well
as reports submitted by outside agencies in developing its plan.
Cornell conducted its investigation in June, two months after
Brown died of a suspected blood clot to the lungs. Brown had
been at the state's largest juvenile lockup for nearly two years
after being sent there for drug possession, rape and inciting a
riot.
