Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
“I Feel Like the Most Hated Man in the World": Inmate Gets Life for Escaping Prison with Help from Guard He “Loved”
Casey White pleaded guilty in the death of Vicky White, who helped him escape an Alabama jail, saying he "wouldn’t drag her name through the mud for anyone in this courtroom.”
An Alabama inmate was handed a life sentence Thursday for his 2022 escape from prison with the help of a corrections officer.
Casey White, 39, pleaded guilty to escape in exchange for the dismissal of a felony murder charge involving the death of corrections officer Vicky White, who helped him escape and then ultimately took her own life as cops caught up with them. He agreed to the maximum sentence of life without parole, according to the Associated Press.
RELATED: Murder Trials For Once-Escaped Alabama Inmate Casey White Scheduled
“I feel like the most hated man in the world," White said in the Lauderdale County courtroom Thursday, according to WHNT. “I loved Vicky and I wouldn’t drag her name through the mud for anyone in this courtroom.”
“Vicky took me out because she said, ‘Right was right. Wrong is wrong,'" he continued. "First person to show me affection. First person to give me a hug in six years.”
The pair, who are not related, were involved in a romantic relationship. Law enforcement initially thought the inmate kidnapped the corrections officer.
Casey White escaped the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Alabama on April 29, 2022 with the aid of Vicky White, the assistant director of corrections at the time. Video evidence showed Vicky White escorting Casey White into a patrol car that they ditched in a parking lot a few miles away from the prison, WHNT reported.
After an 11-day manhunt, the chase ended in Evansville, Indiana, where Casey White was recaptured. As authorities closed in on the duo, Vicky White died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The felony murder charge against Casey White was based on an Alabama law that allows someone to be charged with murder if someone is killed when a felony is being committed, according to the AP. In this case, the felony was Casey White’s escape from prison.
“It wasn’t supposed to go that way,” Casey White said to Vicky White’s mother in the courtroom, according to WHNT. White allegedly admitted the two had fallen in love and were planning to start a new life together.
Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly said during the June 8 hearing that the events surrounding the escape and death had a “tremendous impact” on Vicky White’s family, and that her mother wanted to speak, but was “too emotional,” per WHNT.
Defense attorney Mark McDaniel noted that he had “never seen a case like this,” the Huntsville, Alabama-based TV station reported.
“As good as Vicky was, as kind as she might’ve been, she had a key to get [Casey] out,” WHNT reported McDaniel as saying. “He didn’t have it. She did.”
RELATED: Cops: Alabama Inmate, Late Deputy Exchanged 949 Phone Calls Before Jail Break
White was already serving a 75-year prison term at the time of his escape for a series of criminal acts, including breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home, killing her dog, and holding her and two other people hostage back in 2015, according to WAFF 48.
While in prison, White allegedly confessed to the murder of Connie Ridgeway, who was stabbed to death in October of 2015, per WAFF. He later recanted.
His capital murder trial regarding Ridgeway's killing — which had been delayed due to White’s escape — is set for Aug. 14.
If you or someone you know is thinking about self-harm or experiencing suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
