LANCASTER : Details of Prisoner’s Escape Disclosed in Report

A convicted murderer who escaped Oct. 5 from a new state prison climbed over an eight-foot block wall and two 12-foot chain-link fences--all topped with coiled razor wire--while two guards were distracted, according to a report Thursday.

Prisoner Eric Rene Johnson, 23, was recaptured outside a market about five hours after his escape from the Lancaster prison. His flight triggered an exhaustive review that resulted in 53 recommendations for security improvements, prison officials said.

In their report, state Department of Corrections investigators said that “staff negligence, construction deficiencies and procedural inadequacies” contributed to the escape.

Johnson was the first high-security prisoner to break out of the prison, which was billed as a state-of-the-art detention center when it opened in February. It houses about 4,000 inmates.