Casey White, inmate who ran away with corrections official, pleads guilty to escaping jail

LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Ala. (TCD) -- Casey White, the inmate who escaped from a local jail with a high-level corrections official, pleaded guilty this week in a surprise deal just days before he was scheduled to go to trial.

According to the Times Daily, White entered the plea for first-degree escape, and in return, prosecutors dropped first-degree murder charges in connection with death of Vicki White (no relation). The Times Daily reports White faces 20 years to life in prison for the escape charge, but the plea deal stipulates a life sentence.

During the plea hearing, Casey White apologized to Vicki White’s family and said Vicki loved her mother "very much."

Lauderdale County Judge Ben Graves asked Casey White why the two escaped, and he responded, "We were in love and we decided to live life somewhere else and we thought we could make it. It turns out we couldn’t."

Although Casey White pleaded guilty to escape, he is still scheduled to stand trial in August for allegedly stabbing a woman to death.

Casey White’s plea hearing comes exactly one year after he and Vicki ran off together. On Friday, April 29, Vicki White, the assistant director of corrections at the Lauderdale County Jail, told officials she was transporting Casey White to court at 9:30 a.m. The two never returned and their van was found in a parking lot near the courthouse.

The U.S. Marshals said Vicki White was supposed to retire the day she and Casey White escaped.

A nationwide manhunt ensued for the two, and officials eventually located them in Evansville, Indiana, May 9. U.S. Marshals got into a vehicle pursuit with the pair, and marshals collided with their Cadillac in an attempt to end the chase. The Cadillac flipped, and Vicki White shot herself before she could get arrested.

MORE:

• White Pleads Guilty to Escape, Gets Life - Times Daily
• Alabama corrections official and inmate she allegedly had 'special relationship' with are missing, 5/3/2022 - TCD
• Missing Alabama corrections official's car found; new pics released of missing inmate's white supremacist tattoos, 5/6/2022 - TCD
• Alabama corrections official dies following apprehension in Indiana; fugitive inmate arrested, 5/9/2022 
• Lauderdale Co. Correctional Officer Now a Wanted Fugitive, Along With Jail Escapee, 5/3/2022 - U.S. Marshals