Jason Palmer

Jason Palmer may refer to:

Jason Palmer (prison guard)

Jason Palmer (c. 1977 – 16 May 2010), a United States-born former Marine, was the first prison guard in New Zealand to die on active duty. He was punched by an inmate and fell, hitting his head on the floor, and dying in hospital the next day.

Biography

Born in South Carolina, Palmer attended Jefferson High School in West Virginia and then spent four years in the United States Marine Corps, including time at Quantico Marine Corps base. He met a New Zealand woman, Tracy, online and moved to New Zealand where they married a year later. When he died, he was survived by Tracy and three children: Taylor 15, Riley, 5, and Abbey, 3.

Death

Palmer worked at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility. Palmer was killed by Latu Savelio Halangingie Kepu while unlocking the door to Kepu's cell with two other officers. As the door opened, Kepu swung a punch at Palmer who fell back and hit his head on the concrete pathway outside the cell. Palmer died in hospital the next day when his life support was discontinued. There had been previous confrontations between Kepu and Palmer and Palmer had laid several misconduct charges against Kepu, including one the day before the deadly attack. Palmer had allegedly requested to be moved from that unit in writing due to death threats from Kepu, but his requests were apparently denied. Also not mentioned in the official inquiry is that the 3 officers including Jason Palmer that unlocked Kepu that day were very inexperienced - the most senior officer on the unit that day had been moved down to a low-security unit due to staffing shortages. At the inquest, much was made of the "lack" of high-security process during he unlock; such as why Kepu wasn't made to stand with his hands on the wall as he was unlocked. This focus obscured the real reason why Jason's death occurred in a supposedly low-security prison - managerial incompetence.

Jason Palmer (golfer)

Jason Palmer (born 8 October 1984) is an English professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.

Amateur career

As an amateur whilst at Birmingham University, Palmer won the 2006 Italian Amateur Open. In 2008 he followed this up with a win in the Midlands Open.

His biggest win as an amateur came in 2009 at the South of England Open Amateur Championship at Walton Heath Golf Club.

Professional career

Palmer turned professional in 2009 and initially played on the Alps Tour, his first win on the tour came at the 2010 Uniqa Financelife Open.

Following the 2010 season, Palmer joined the Challenge Tour and played a mixed schedule of Challenge Tour and Alps Tour events. His second win as a professional came in 2013 at the Friuli Venezia Giulia Open, this was followed up with two further Alps Tour wins in 2013 at the Cervino Open and the Citadelle Trophy International. In winning the Citadelle Trophy Palmer set a new tour record for the largest winning margin with a victory of 11 strokes. With these wins, Palmer won the Alps Tour Order of Merit for 2013 securing his full playing rights on the Challenge Tour for 2014.