A second US prison officer has been arrested following the escape of two convicted murderers from a prison in upstate New York.
Gene Palmer, 57, has been charged with aiding Richard Matt and David Sweat's escape from the Clinton Correctional Facility.
The prisoners used power tools to drill through their cell walls and remain at large - despite a major manhunt in the weeks since the escape scouring local areas.
CNN reports that the corrections officer from the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York has been charged with three felonies and a misdemeanour in connection with the break out.
The most serious of the charges – one count of promoting dangerous prison contraband – carries a potential sentence of seven years in prison.
The guard is accused of giving one of the escapees a screwdriver and wrench, ostensibly to repair electrical breakers in an area behind the cells. The guard claims he supervised the prisoners during the work and took the tools back after they had completed it.
Police found the tools at Palmer’s house after a search.
