Widow of Slain Prison Guard Urges Safety

     PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The widow of a slain prison guard has urged
South Dakota lawmakers to take steps to make sure such a tragedy
does not happen again.
     Ronald Johnson, 63, was killed in April at the South Dakota
State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls in what authorities have
described as a failed escape attempt by two inmates. Rodney Berget
and Eric Robert have been charged with first-degree murder.
     Johnson's wife, Lynette, spoke to the Legislature's Executive
Board on Monday after state prison officials said they have
completed nearly all the security improvements they announced
earlier at the prison.
     In a choked voice, she said the prison is often short of guards
because it is underfunded. She says lawmakers need to make sure no
more prison guards are killed.