Corrections Officer Charged Over Alleged Relationship with Inmate

Based in Wilsonville at Coffee Creek, James Price had been with state Corrections for four years.

(SALEM) - A state corrections officer has been arrested for an alleged 3-month long relationship with a female inmate.

34-year old James Price, Jr., a Corrections Corporal, now faces 3 counts of custodial sexual misconduct. He was arrested at his home in Salem after an investigation that Oregon State Police say lasted nine months. He is now in custody at the Marion County Jail.

Price worked at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. The charges allege that the three month long relationship beween he and the inmate happened in 2005.

Price has been with the Department of Corrections since February 2002. He stopped working at the prison in early January 2006, pending the outcome of the investigation. The Corrections Department is now in the process of suspending Price with no pay, according to local news reports.

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Albert Marnell September 21, 2006 11:24 am (Pacific time)

Hank, I do not care if the kind of people in the system are insulted. They should hear the truth. The truth is not an insult. It is the truth. Yes, sometimes I go a little overboard but that is o.k. because it leans towards fairness, real justice, compassion and just plain common sense. The whole penal system has to be torn down and started from scratch with fewer inmates and with fewer and a different kind of employee. People that have to eke out a living at one of the prison-like complexes such as the largest discount retailers are the freed slaves of today with no power. All of the wealth of their labor goes to the top and some of them are quite bright, competent and hard working. I am reminding you that the term "eke out" was created in 1596. Our system is basically the same except the veneer is different.

Joe Anderson September 21, 2006 10:32 am (Pacific time)

Man Henry all of your comments on this site always seem to point toward your hatred of Ron Saxton. While I don't think he will do much better than Kulongoski, the current Gov is NO better for this state than Saxton. If you think the Kulongoski is so right, then show what he has done positive for this state! Oh wait, you can't because you are so far to the left, you think that Kulongoski has done wonders for Oregon. Try and be fair and quit spinning everything towards the democrats. People are starting to get sick of your op:ed's and their bias. Why don't you be fair and try, I know it might hurt a little, but really look into both sides of the Gov's race, and lets see some op:ed's on Kulongoski or even Darlene Hooley and her race that is getting nasty. Thanks Joe A

Henry Ruark September 21, 2006 7:21 am (Pacific time)

Al: You gotta stop re-teaching us our history...makes it even more painful when correct, most of the time... On this one, wonder where Saxton will see his ten percent "efficiency"-slash ? Will it be in personnel selection where this guy came from ? OR in supervision, setting us up for second-shot court-suit costing hugely-more than ten percent ? Careful selection of managers, devoted to doing job --which changes when they are insulted, maligned, character-assassinated, and find pension promises re-figured. Takes good people to make it go' you don't get 'em on your side by insult as you arrive. That is NOT how you achieve "real change' !!!

Albert Marnell September 21, 2006 2:35 am (Pacific time)

Why am I not surprised? If you think that abuse of all sorts in prison is unusual, you are as naive as a kindergartener. Jail is basically one big free for all. It is a business. Also, half of the people in jail are in for petty drug and other offenses. Did you know that it is against Federal Law to send money overseas in the form of currency, even if this was to a friend in need? This is "Patriot Act" B.S. As my grandfather would say, "They give it a name and then they let it run." Jail is at least supposed to remove people from society that are truly dangerous to society. In more modern times (which we are not living in) prison was supposed to rehabilitate not subject people to a daily hellish existence. Why does the United States have more people in prison than any other modern society? Answer: because it is a business and the United States cares about nothing but business. It is about money, jobs, construction contracts for jails and the whole para-military complex of the penal system. This country was built off of the backs of slaves (then freed slaves), indentured servants, exploited women and children and exploited immigrants. Has that much really changed? The next time you see a homeless person, think about how far we have not evolved as a compassionate society. A corrections officer is often a wanabe police officer. They are all cut out of the same mold. I'll give that my usual 1 percent exception.

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