Death Row Inmate Gets Help From NJ Man, Ex-Prison Guard in Escape Attempt

Authorities in Tennessee say two men have been arrested, including a former prison guard, for a plot to break out Tennessee's lone female death row inmate, Christa Gail Pike.

New Jersey State Police on Monday arrested 34-year-old Donald Kohut of Flemington, N.J., who has frequently visited Pike in prison, on a charge of bribery and conspiracy to commit escape.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said that 23-year-old Justin Heflin, a former correctional officer at the Tennessee Prison for women, was receiving money and gifts for his help in the planned escape. Heflin was indicted on charges of bribery, conspiracy to commit escape and facilitation to commit escape.
Pike was 18 went she was sentenced to death for the 1995 torture slaying of Colleen Slemmer, a fellow Knoxville Job Corps student.

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