This story contains significant spoilers.
In 2022, Vicky White announced her retirement after 17 years at the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Florence, Alabama. People there, both staff and inmates, respected her because she was good at her job and treated everyone kindly. “She treated everybody like they were somebody,” says Tyler Purser, a former detainee, in the documentary Jailbreak: Love on the Run. “She was like [the] mother … that everybody in there never had growing up.”
Vicky hinted to some colleagues that her departure would be memorable. They didn’t get it until April 29, 2022, her last workday. After her farewell party, she told fellow officers she was taking Casey White (no relation) to the courthouse for a mental health check, but they vanished.
In Jailbreak: Love on the Run, Vicky’s friends and colleagues try to understand how she and an inmate fell in love and planned their escape.
Who is Vicky White?
During her time at the detention center, Vicky was seen as crucial. “If you had a question about anything, you called Vicky,” recalls Sergeant Dylan Elrod. She was even known for catching officers smuggling contraband for inmates. “She was really good at it,” says Chantelle Brown. “I would go out on a limb to say that she took pride in it. It made her feel some sense of satisfaction to be able to uncover the truth.”
Vicky’s marriage ended in divorce. In 2021, she revealed to colleagues that she was seeing two men, one of whom was 38 while she was 55. Her peers didn’t know his identity. Some inmates suspected something when they saw Casey giving Vicky letters without addresses on them.
Who is Casey White?
Casey was seen as very dangerous. Already serving a 75-year sentence for violent crimes, he confessed to another murder and was transferred to Lauderdale County Detention Center in August 2020 to await trial. He was known for being charming when he wanted something.
“You have to be very strong-minded as a woman to work in a jail with male inmates,” says Sergeant Renee Lewis, remembering when Casey asked for a hug because he hadn’t touched a woman in years. “You can’t cross that fine line,” adds former officer Joyce Brawly. “You don’t want to be [the residents’] enemy, but they can’t be your friend.”
Jailbreak: Love on the Run debuts on Netflix on Sept. 25.