Global Courant
FLORENCE, Ala. An Alabama inmate was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for escaping with the help of a prison officer who ultimately committed suicide as police approached after a three-state manhunt.
Casey White, 39, told those present in the Lauderdale County courtroom that he felt like the most hated man in the world, but that he would not “drag the name of 56-year-old Detective Vicky White through the dust,” news outlets reported. . He said Vicky White, who was not related to him, was the first person to care about him in six years.
He apologized for the escape and said Vicky White’s only regret was leaving her family behind.
“We just wanted a new life together because she knew the truth. I can handle the truth because I know who I am,” White said. “I have chosen this path. It cost me my life and freedom.”
White was serving a 75-year sentence on a series of charges from 2015, including attempted murder, and was awaiting trial for capital murder when he escaped in April 2022. The pair were on the run for 11 days until Casey White was recaptured. in Evansville, Indiana. Vicky White died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
White pleaded guilty to escape in exchange for prosecutors dropping a murder charge related to Vicky White’s death, and agreed to the maximum life sentence without parole.
Casey White was also told to notify the state if he, his family or attorneys were offered any book, movie or other financial opportunity related to the escape, which made national headlines as all proceeds would have to be used to pay for his defense.
Meanwhile, on August 14, he is still facing trial for the 2015 murder of Connie Ridgeway in Rogersville, Alabama. That trial was delayed in the wake of the escape, and White retained a new team of attorneys.
