Alaska inmates cause trouble in Colorado prison

var requestedWidth = 0; if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; HUDSON,Colo. — A disturbance at the privately owned Hudson Correctional Facility 25 miles northeast of Denver International Airport was sparked when cell doors in a unit housing 41 inmates from Alaska inexplicably opened early this morning.

Charles Seigel, spokesman for the Cornell Companies, which operates the prison, said his company is investigating whether the doors opened at about 1:20 a.m. in the prison's segregation unit because of an electronic malfuction or human error.

The segregation unit houses inmates who have disciplinary issues and have caused problems, as well as inmates in protective custody, Seigel said.

When inmates realized the cell doors were open, many left their cells but most returned a short time later. However, as many as a dozen began destroying sprinkler heads and computers. They also tried to break out of the building by breaking windows.

Seigel said the inmates who vandalized the unit were housed there because of disciplinary problems.

The disturbance caused widespread water damage. The unit was littered with water, paper and smashed computers.

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