by Michael Lyle, Nevada Current
In its first meeting since the resignation of the prison director following a person escaping prison, Nevada Department of Corrections officials took responsibility for administrative failures, confirmed additional officers were placed on paid administrative leave and vowed to be more transparent in operations going forward.
William Gittere, the acting director for the Nevada Department of Corrections, addressed the Board of Prison Commissioners, comprised of Gov. Steve Sisolak, Attorney General Aaron Ford, and Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, on Monday to provide updates about additional security protocols being implemented.
Gittere said that eight corrections officers have been placed on paid administrative leave for breaching security protocols. Initially officials said only six corrections officers had been placed on administrative leave.
Sisolak asked for Daniel’s resignation after Porfirio Duarte-Herrera escaped from Southern Desert Correctional Center Sept. 23.
“From top to bottom, the department accepts responsibility for and truly regrets the security breaches that allowed for the escape from our custody,” Gitter said. “To protect the integrity of that investigation and the rights of those who may be involved, we cannot comment on the specifics of the investigation at the time.”
None of the commissioners asked follow up questions.
It took the department several days to become aware that Duarte-Herrera, who was serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2010 for killing a hotdog vendor after a bomb he constructed went off at the Luxor garage, escaped the facility.
He was apprehended Sept 28.
Daniels’ resignation followed more than two years of criticism from multiple quarters, including prison employees and inmates’ families, concerning operations of the prisons and his department’s sluggish responses to requests for information – even requests from lawmakers.
Jodi Hocking, the founder of the prison advocacy group Return Strong, said during public comment on Monday that the resignation of Daniels presents the state with “an opportunity to stop and look at how corrections is being done successfully, differently and safely in many other areas.”
Hocking said Return Strong, along with other civil rights groups, are planning to send Sisolak a letter asking for him to take a different approach to corrections and consider models used in other states that are designed to “make sure people come out whole and ready to be part of their communities.”
Both Gittere and Hocking acknowledged they had already met to discuss transparency issues.
Hocking said while the meeting didn’t come to a resolution, it “did open the door to communication, which since day one has been really what we tried for.”
However, she was also concerned that the Board of Prison Commissioners meeting, which is one of the few opportunities to examine prison policies being proposed and for families of the incarcerated to publicly call attention to problems within facilities, is conducted in such a quick manner.
Some meetings conclude without a single question or comment from the board.
“My mom has a saying she used to say: ‘You can’t heal a wound that you don’t acknowledge,’” Hocking said. “It concerns me that with this Department of Corrections openly and publicly bleeding that we’re able to finish a meeting in 36 minutes so far before public comment. Are we really getting to the core of what the issues are?”
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