North Carolina Department of Public Safety - Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, North Carolina
End of Watch: Monday, June 2, 1969
Age: 33
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 2, 1969
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Correctional Officer Earl Strickland was shot and killed by one of two inmates who gained control of a weapon that had been smuggled into the facility during a chaplain service at the Robeson Correctional Center near Lumberton.
The suspects then took another officer hostage and fled in Officer Strickland's car. They stopped at a nearby farm where they took a family of four hostage and barricaded themselves along with the guard in the family's home. During the night three of the family members escaped and alerted police. The next day the suspects surrendered to officers who had surrounded the home.
The suspect who shot Officer Strickland had been in prison since 1961. He was serving a 70 to 120 year sentence for second degree murder, kidnapping, and robbery. He was convicted of Officer Strickland's murder and received a life sentence on November 28, 1969. He was released from prison on May 2, 1991.
Officer Strickland was survived by his expectant wife and child.