Authorities at the Prince George's County jail were informed that two corrections officers had become "the focus of the investigation" into the death of inmate Ronnie White, ruled last week to have been a homicide.

As of Tuesday morning, those two officers have been put on what is known as "non-duty status," a form of paid leave.

The White family attorney, Bobby Henry, stated, "we do believe that under the circumstances, somebody ought to have been administratively relieved... They should not be allowed to remain in the facility."

County officials in Maryland say two corrections officers have been identified as "people of interest" in the probe of an inmate found strangled in his cell.

Still unclear is who told jail officials that the officers were under scrutiny, whether it was Maryland state police, the FBI (web), or the office of state's attorney Glenn Ivey. A spokesman for Ivey would not comment, saying that he is prohibited from commenting on grand jury proceedings.

Ronnie White was found dead in the Prince George's County Jail in June, days after he was arrested in the hit-and-run death of a police officer.

The inmate's death was ruled a homicide, and the FBI opened a civil rights investigation.

Prince George's County NAACP (web|news) chapter president June White Dillard said, "This is too long. There is a significant cloud over this county, the police department, the correctional officers, all the people that are involved... We want this case to go to the grand jury and there to be an indictment. That's what we want to see. We have to get this resolved properly."

Prince George's County Spokesman John Erzen said Monday the corrections officers were placed on paid leave after they became the focus of the investigation of the 19-year-old inmate's death.

Erzen declined to identify the officers. He also would not say how long they have been on leave or who identified them as being of interest in the investigation.