Richard Alvin Ausley was strangled and beaten to death in his Sussex I State Prison cell on Jan. 13. The slaying was investigated by the Department of Corrections' Inspector General's office, leading to the indictment of cellmate Dewey Keith Venable.

Yesterday, Secretary of Public Safety John W. Marshall said, "I have directed the state police to conduct an independent review of the Department of Corrections investigation into the death of inmate Richard Ausley."

[Michael J. Gennaco], a former federal prosecutor, said there may have been no wrongdoing in connection with Ausley's slaying, but he said the finding of no wrongdoing would carry more weight if made by outside investigators.