WHYY: Katie Meyer - March 31, 2021
After a young man was murdered this month on the grounds of a Philadelphia prison immediately after being released, city officials say they’re instituting new safety measures.
Rodney Hargrove, 20, posted bail and left the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia’s Holmesburg section around 1 a.m. on March 18. He was waiting for a bus across the street when a car drove up, according to prison officials. When Hargrove ran back onto facility grounds, the car followed, and occupants shot him near the prison’s main entrance.
“The Philadelphia Department of Prisons remains shocked and horrified that Rodney Hargrove … was murdered on our grounds,” Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney said in a statement Wednesday. “We recognize that this murder erodes public trust in the safety and operations of PDP facilities.”
The department is not waiting for the conclusion of its investigation to launch several new security practices, she said.
Previously, the prison had no security cameras at Curran-Fromhold’s main gate, according to the union that represents city correctional officers. That meant there was no footage of Hargrove’s murder — a fact the union said is troubling.
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