Top administrators at a North Carolina prison where four employees were killed during the deadliest breakout attempt in state history are suspended with pay after an outside investigation found multiple security lapses before and after the slayings.

State prisons spokesman Jerry Higgins said Wednesday that Pasquotank Correctional Institution Administrator Felix Taylor and assistant superintendent for custody operations Colbert Respass were placed on leave with pay this week.

Higgins says they'll stay out until the end of an investigation. He refused to say whether that was the criminal investigation into the assaults, or something else.

The move comes after a National Institute of Corrections evaluation report released last week said the Pasquotank prison was so understaffed that workers cut corners in ways that created opportunities for the deadly October breakout attempt.