Fallen Officers
George Haight
George Haight
George Haight, a gate keeper, was poisoned by an inmate March 27, 1893 at the Michigan State Penitentiary in Jackson.
Haight ate tainted food prepared by inmate Robert Irving Latimer. Latimer served Haight, the captain, and other workers food poisoned with prussic acid. Latimer had special permission to both cook meals and purchase hazardous chemicals.
When Haight passed out, Latimer swiped his key ring and made his break. He was apprehended days later.
Haight was survived by a wife and five children.
Latimer wasn’t charged with Haight’s murder, possibly because he was already serving a life sentence for his mother’s murder. Decades later, he received a pardon from the governor and was released.
Earl DeMarse
Earl DeMarse
On the morning of September 25, 1973, Earl F. DeMarse, a corrections officer at the Marquette Branch Prison, reported for duty as usual.
Fifteen minutes into the shift, DeMarse came from his station in the auditorium to Central Control bleeding profusely from multiple stab wounds. He died before he made it to the hospital. DeMarse was 55 years old. DeMarse’s killer, inmate Richard Goodard, was given a mandatory life sentence in 1974. He was transferred to the State Prison of Southern Michigan and was there only a short time when he stabbed and injured another officer.
DeMarse was the second corrections officer killed in the line of duty in the state of Michigan. The Earl F. DeMarse Corrections Academy in Lansing was named after him to honor his 26 years of dedicated work as a Michigan corrections officer.
After DeMarse’s death, many officers wanted to strike because they were shorthanded and under very difficult working conditions.
Josephine McCallum
Josephine McCallum
Corrections Officer Josephine McCallum, a new employee, was found murdered at the bottom of a stairwell in the activities building of Jackson Central March 24, 1987.
She was the only officer in the building when she was brutally attacked, raped, and left to die. She left behind one son and a husband.
Inmate Edward Hill was charged with the murder of Josephine McCallum and received a life imprisonment sentence in 1990. One of the delays in the trial was the blood enzyme test (from blood found on Hill’s clothing). The courts decided that the test was inadmissible evidence because of the uncertainty of its accuracy. The Jackson County Prosecutor challenged the decision and was successful in bringing Hill to trial.
Jack Budd
Jack Budd
On December 27, 1987, Corrections Officer Jack Budd was working in five block at the State Prison of Southern Michigan.
His life ended when a prisoner brutally attacked and murdered him.The inmate ran from the shower area and attacked Budd, stabbing him repeatedly.
Inmate James Miller was charged with the murder of Officer Jack Budd. He went to trial and received an additional 80-120 years in prison.
Fallen Officers Memorial
After years of research and planning, MCO’s Fallen Officers Memorial was dedicated May 7, 2017. As bagpipes played “Amazing Grace,” corrections officers lifted the veil off the long-anticipated memorial, giving corrections staff, other law enforcement, legislators, and union supporters their first glimpse of the monument that honors Michigan corrections officers killed in the line of duty.
“It’s very moving,” Sally Budd, sister of fallen corrections officer Jack Budd, said that day. “It’s beautiful because it’s so simple. It’s also a stark reminder of the danger of the job.”
The memorial honors the four corrections officers who have lost their lives in service to the people of Michigan. They are George Haight (date of death March 27, 1893); Earl DeMarse (Sept. 25, 1973); Josephine McCallum (March 24, 1987); and Jack Budd (Dec. 27, 1987). This memorial is our way of ensuring the sacrifice of these officers is never forgotten.
A memorial had been discussed several times over the years but never came to fruition. Then, in 2015, a few corrections officers and retirees approached the MCO Executive Board with a detailed plan for a memorial. The Board approved a committee to research a memorial and turn this long-standing dream into a reality.
The investment MCO leaders put into the memorial and the unveiling ceremony sent a strong message to all members: your union leadership understands and appreciates the dangerous nature of your job. We won’t forget. We won’t stop fighting for safer prisons and a voice in our working conditions.
“Corrections officers are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and they face a lot of danger, aggression, and insults,” MCO Executive Director Andy Potter said. “As corrections reform moves forward, our hope is that the voices of these fallen officers and the voices of corrections and forensic officers who are still working do not go unheard inside these changes.”
To mark the occasion, MCO created a special commemorative coin that was given to all guests at the memorial unveiling. The memorial honors the fallen, but the coin acknowledges those currently working behind the walls.
“Whenever someone looks at this coin, we hope they reflect on us, the corrections officers, working at that very moment. We put our safety on the line in service to our communities every day,” said Lorraine Emery, corrections officer at the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility.
Any MCO member may receive one of these coins by visiting the memorial at the MCO Central Office, 421 W. Kalamazoo St., Lansing, during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays).