A Vigil for a Fallen Colleague

AUSTIN, TEXAS

It was a prediction that came chillingly true

Daniel Nagle, president of AFSCME Local 3890 and a Texas corrections officer, spoke out against prison understaffing at a rally in the state Capitol Dec. 4. While Texas has the nation’s second largest state prison system after California, it ranks 46th in pay for COs, resulting in a shortfall of almost 1,800 COs. “Someone will have to be killed,” Nagle told the rally, “before the Texas Department of Criminal Justice does anything about the shortage of staff.”

Two weeks later, Nagle, 37, was found dead in a pool of blood in a cellblock at the Beeville prison, just minutes before the end of his shift. An inmate is being questioned in the killing.

Members of AFSCME Correctional Employees Council 7 have rallied to honor the slain officer’s memory and to continue to bring to light the understaffing at the prisons.

In January, members conducted a weeklong, 24-hour-a-day vigil in Austin. And the candle used at the vigil is being sent throughout the state over the next six months, to more than a dozen correctional facilities.

The “Candle Across Texas” vigil is designed to urge Texas Gov. (and presidential candidate) George Bush (R) to convene a special session of the legislature to address pay for COs.

“No one in Texas recognizes COs as part of the judicial system. It’s not a highly visible job such as police officer or firefighter or other law enforcement personnel,” explains Carlos Carrasco, executive director of Council 7. “The march is to educate the general public as to what a corrections officer’s job is, and I think we’ve made tremendous strides.”

Nagle is survived by his wife, Crystal, and three young children. A memorial fund has been established to assist them. Checks, payable to “The Nagle Memorial Fund,” may be sent to:

Nagle Memorial Fund
National Bank of Gatesville
P.O. Box 779
Gatesville, Texas 76528