An Arkansas Department of Corrections critical-incident review released Friday concludes that convicted murderer and former police chief Grant Hardin spent six months orchestrating his 25 May escape from the North Central Unit at Calico Rock. Working in the prison kitchen, Hardin gathered discarded laundry, black markers and a can-lid badge to craft a law-enforcement-style uniform, then walked through an electronically unlocked gate after instructing a tower guard to open it. The report faults “very lax” kitchen oversight and finds Hardin had been misclassified at the primarily medium-security facility. A kitchen worker who left him unsupervised on a back dock and the guard who opened the gate have been fired; additional staff have been suspended or demoted. Investigators say Hardin hid supplies in trash cans that were never searched and had even built a pallet ladder he ultimately did not need. Hardin, serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape, was recaptured on 6 June roughly 1.5 miles northwest of the prison after 12 days on the run. Corrections officials have since removed electric locks from gates, ordered more cameras and expanded contraband searches. A legislative subcommittee plans to question prison leaders next month, while Hardin faces separate escape charges at a trial scheduled for November.