From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighA total lockdown that followed an inmate-on-inmate assault is the cause of an August riot at a central Kentucky prison.That’s the opinion of Northpoint Training Center employee Vick Morris, who testified before a legislative panel in Frankfort Thursday.Morris called the food at the prison, “slop,” but said it was not the cause of the riot.“When the controlled movement announcement and these new schedules were posted in the dorms by the unit administrators just before they boogied, it ignited very volatile fuses. The riot was all about some muscle flexing back, not about crappy vittles, per se,” Morris said.Corrections Commissioner Ladonna Thompson listened to Morris’ testimony, but chose not to respond. She says the facts will come out Friday, when a Critical Incident Review Team that studied the riot issues its final report.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.