Mathna said approximately 1,500 people are employed at Allenwood, Lewisburg and in Schuylkill County and more than 7,500 inmates are supervised by staff at these facilities.

He noted that workers at the Lewisburg facility circulated a petition with the signatures of about 120 staff members and sent it to U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-10 of Dimock, and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. The petition states those signed are "petitioning for additional correctional officers to ensure the safety and security of staff, inmates and the surrounding communities of the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg."

It also describes several recent incidents in which staff members have felt unsafe.

Changing duties

Because of the staffing cuts, Liesenfeld said, such workers as secretaries, pharmacists and non-subsidy staff have been known to be assigned to work custody posts.

"This is a penitentiary," he said. "We're not dealing with white-collar crime. There are drug dealers, murderers, rapists ... Our issue is, Hey, they're creating a situation where staff are going to get hurt.' We've been saying that for years, and unfortunately with the tragic murder, what we've been saying has been come to pass. Until something is changed, this could keep happening."

Liesenfeld said he has been working with Rep. Carney about these issues and has been able to set up a visit for him to tour the facility in August.

"Things are not going to get better," he said. "Unfortunately they are going to get worse before they get better. ... Inmates are at risk with no staff and staff are at risk with so many inmates."

A spokesman at the Allenwood penitentiary said he could not comment on the funding topic.

"It's brewing a recipe for disaster," he said. "I don't want to attend a funeral for one of my co-workers, and the community doesn't want to attend (a funeral) of a person in the community with family and friends here."