Legislature(2015 - 2016)ANCH LIO AUDITORIUM
08/18/2015 01:00 PM Senate JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview: the Alaska Department of Corrections Inmate Safety Administrative Review | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
August 18, 2015
1:10 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Lesil McGuire, Chair
Senator John Coghill, Vice Chair
Senator Bill Wielechowski
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Mia Costello
Senator Peter Micciche
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Senator Johnny Ellis
Representative Max Gruenberg
Representative Matt Claman
Representative Neal Foster
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux, Chair, House Judiciary
Representative Wes Keller
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Charisse Millett
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: THE ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS INMATE SAFETY
ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
WITNESS REGISTER
DEAN WILLIAMS, Special Assistant to Governor Walker
Alaska Department of Corrections Inmate Safety Review
Office of the Governor
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an overview of an impending
administrative review on the Alaska Department of Corrections
regarding inmate safety.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:10:23 PM
CHAIR LESIL MCGUIRE called the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:10 p.m. Present at the call to
order was Senator Wielechowski and Chair McGuire.
^OVERVIEW: THE ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS INMATE SAFETY
ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
OVERVIEW: THE ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS INMATE SAFETY
ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
1:11:00 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE explained that the Senate Judiciary Committee will
hear an overview from Dean Williams, Special Assistant to
Governor Walker, who will begin an administrative review on the
Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC).
She noted that the succeeding Joint Judiciary Committee meeting
will hear about prison costs and reform. She explained that the
Joint Judiciary Committee meeting will include individuals who
will provide their perspective on how the justice system has
been reformed in other states. She added that she appreciated
the Pew Charitable Trusts for their partnering with Alaska to
address prison costs and reform.
She welcomed Senator Johnny Ellis, Representative Max Gruenberg,
and Representative Wes Keller to the meeting. She acknowledged
the family members of Davon Mosley and welcomed retired Justice
Alex Bryner, Alaska Supreme Court.
She noted that the Senate Judiciary Committee in March had
initiated the process of trying to receive tapes and files
related to the deaths that have occurred in the DOC. She noted
that the committee has addressed specific cases, including the
2014 death of Davon Mosely. She revealed that the governor had
asked to meet with her last week and noted that Mr. Williams was
also in attendance. She added that she spoke with DOC officers
as well. She summarized that the governor made it very clear
that he cares very deeply about the DOC deaths and noted that he
was approached throughout his gubernatorial campaign by many of
the corrections officers as well as the families of those who
have lost loved ones while serving time in the prison system.
She stated that the governor was pleased to join the legislature
in the investigation to look into the DOC deaths and what can be
done to prevent them in the future. She detailed that the
governor has given his full support and has asked Mr. Williams
to be a special investigator on the DOC investigation.
1:13:11 PM
DEAN WILLIAMS, Special Investigator, Alaska Department of
Corrections Inmate Safety Administrative Review, Office of the
Governor, Juneau, Alaska, stated that the Senate Judiciary
Committee, the legislature, the public and many others have
expressed deep concern about the operations of DOC concerning
some of the deaths and some of the unfortunate incidents that
have occurred. He asserted that the Governor's Office as well as
the governor are concerned as well and are doing something about
it.
1:13:39 PM
MR. WILLIAMS explained that he would detail how the decision was
made for the DOC review. He related that he was involved in
state government for 31 years and came out of retirement to work
for the governor as a special assistant. He disclosed that when
the discussion about DOC occurred a few weeks after starting, he
put his name forward to offer assistance.
He explained that the investigation is the result of public
concerns regarding recent deaths and the circumstances around
certain deaths in DOC. He set forth that the governor and he
believe that public trust in an agency requires telling the
truth. He asserted that the Office of the Governor is committed
to finding out what the truth is.
He specified that the investigation will reveal what is going
right, what is not going right, and what recommendations might
be done to fix things. He remarked that the human toll and the
financial costs are significant when an agency is having
trouble, but asserted that the intent is not to pick on DOC or
any agency.
He said the DOC review is really getting a look at the big
picture by looking at specific incidents. He detailed that the
review is being done by himself as well as Joe Hanlon, a retired
FBI agent who runs his own special investigation shop. He noted
that Mr. Hanlon was recommended by Mark Mew, Anchorage Chief of
Police. He said Chief Mew is a qualified person who will assist
with the review as well.
He specified that a comprehensive report will be submitted to
the governor after a two to three month review process. He noted
that the governor will provide the Judiciary Committee with an
executive summary that may have individual names redacted in
order to protect people who are coming forward and telling the
truth. He stated that a final report will be provided to the
public and the legislature.
MR. WILLIAMS said he asked that all DOC employees talk to him
confidentially; in other words, no supervisory questioning of
people that talk to himself or Mr. Hanlon. He added that little
or no visitation notices will be provided to any of the DOC
facilities that he will visit. He asserted that he did not want
DOC facilities preparing or cleaning things up. He stated that
his intent is to see how the DOC facilities are operating in
order to see what is going well and what is not going well.
1:16:44 PM
He said inmate deaths occurring inside DOC facilities will
clearly be one of the areas of focus. He added that the review
will look at restraints, abuse, neglect, suicides, and homicides
within the last two years. He revealed that specific cases
beyond two years will also be reviewed, including the Israel
Keyes case due to its national attention as well as cases that
he is not at liberty to reveal.
He said the review will also address the following:
· Operational confidence issues.
· Documentation and accurate reporting.
· Appropriate review of a major incidence.
· Appropriate personnel investigations.
· Strategy towards improvement.
· The utilization of national agencies that help corrections
departments.
· Staffing concerns.
· Employee morale.
· DOC's culture.
1:18:01 PM
He asserted that any review is imperfect. He said the review's
goal is to get a snapshot and not a dissection of what is going
on in the department. He avowed that he approaches the review
with great humility knowing that he and Mr. Hanlon are human
beings; they are going to do their best to tell the truth, but
know that something may be missed.
He revealed that he has already met with DOC employees and noted
their dedication. He said DOC employees are good folks that
really want to do a good job and the state is fortunate to have
a work force that has that value.
MR. WILLIAMS pointed out that the review is not a blame-game
from the Governor's Office and certainly not from him. He
asserted that the review is about finding out what happened, how
DOC arrived at the current point, and really not being afraid to
tell the truth. He said he has discussed the issues with his
staff. He avowed that his focus is not to get someone in
trouble, but to find out what happened first. He noted that if
something should happen regarding personnel issues; that was
another level. He reiterated that the intent of the review is to
figure out what happened first. He asserted that he and the
governor are committed to understanding the problem first before
recommending a fix.
1:19:45 PM
He pointed out that the succeeding Joint Judiciary meeting with
the Pew Charitable Trusts regarding justice reform was a
different process, but with a very common goal. He set forth
that the goal is to improve the justice system as well as help
improve DOC. He affirmed that reform work that reduces
incarceration and recidivism is good under any sky, but noted
that developing some margins when trying to make improvements
with an agency by providing some breathing room was even more
valuable in terms of going forward with recommendations or
implementation. He summarized that the Pew Charitable Trusts
effort and the justice reform effort are critical components in
the state's future and will certainly help the review in terms
of DOC.
He announced that he and Mr. Hanlon welcome phone calls or
meetings with the legislature and staff. He said he and Mr.
Hanlon are open to any feedback in addition to addressing
specific incidences.
1:21:53 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE welcomed Representative Gabrielle LeDoux, Chair of
the House Judiciary Committee.
She pointed out that the Senate Judiciary Committee held a
hearing in March that addressed DOC inmate deaths. She specified
that the hearing was conversational with a variety of folks. She
noted that corrections officers testified to things they
witnessed and problems they felt were occurring with respect to
training and the prisoner to corrections officer ratio. She
added that DOC Commissioner Taylor addressed specifics with the
inmate deaths.
CHAIR MCGUIRE revealed that she had a discussion with Mr.
Williams about the committee being denied access to information,
tapes, and documents relating to the DOC inmate deaths, which
ultimately started the march down the path for a review. She
said a tape from the committee's March hearing will be submitted
to Mr. Williams for his investigation. She noted that
Representative LeDoux will have things that she would like to
address with Mr. Williams as well. She stated that her
understanding is Mr. Williams will have access to all of DOC's
information. She asserted that allowing Mr. Williams access is
important. She specified that Mr. Williams will have access to
surveillance tapes, medical files, documents relating to
prisoner deaths, homicides, suicides, and all of the other
things being investigated.
1:23:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if DOC or the Department of Public
Safety investigates prisoner deaths.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that the Department of Public Safety
investigates deaths inside state facilities, including DOC. He
noted that his job is to assess the DOC death review process,
how long the review process has been going on, and what the
policy is around death investigations inside DOC facilities. He
added that personnel investigations will assess if DOC employees
are following death review policy and if somebody is not doing
their job. He asserted that three things should be occurring: a
Department of Public Safety investigation, a law enforcement
officer's investigation, and DOC's own internal review. He added
that if appropriate, a personnel investigation should also be
going on at the same time.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked who should conduct personnel
investigations and should the DOC conduct personnel
investigations.
MR. WILLIAMS replied that personnel investigations are handled
differently by departments. He explained that DOC has someone
inside that does most of the personnel investigations. He
remarked that he did not want to make additional comments, but
noted that DOC personnel investigations are being reviewed.
1:25:55 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI pointed out that Mr. Williams addressed
concerns with staffing issues and prisoner death issues. He
stated that the issues addressed were important and obviously
critical. He commented that he was a little unclear as to what
Mr. Williams' exact focus is for the DOC investigation. He asked
if Mr. Williams' investigation will focus on one particular
death, deaths in general, or on the overall corrections system.
MR. WILLIAMS answered that the investigation will first look at
the last two years of deaths, suicides, and any other unnatural
deaths or natural deaths. He added that the investigation will
review the last two suicides, including the Israel Keyes case.
He noted that Israel Keyes is a significant case for what it
means to the department. He opined that the suicide cases are a
major item and the reason for the investigation, but added that
there are other peripheral things that are becoming important
like policy and review issues. He stated that when major
incidences occur, questions should be asked as to how, why, and
is there something deficient in the way DOC is operating. He
summarized that the review will look at the death incidents as
the major focus point, but realizing that around the major
incidents are a lot of other things that include policy
development, training, staffing issues, and how all of those
things come into play.
1:28:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER pointed out that a lot of the
investigation's goals and purposes are aligned with the Criminal
Justice Commission's efforts for the legislature's ongoing
interest in looking at justice reform. He noted that SB 91
addresses justice reform. He asked Mr. Williams to keep track of
what the Justice Commission is doing and to make them aware of
the investigation's big-picture findings. He remarked that Mr.
Williams has a different perspective and could be very valuable
for the Justice Commission in bringing back recommendations to
the legislature. He stated that Mr. Williams' investigation is
important to the Judiciary Committees. He requested that Mr.
Williams incorporate within his report, as the governor allows,
a broader picture on DOC's culture and incarceration
effectiveness.
MR. WILLIAMS acknowledged Representative Keller's request.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked Mr. Williams to provide contact
information and noted that he will have a discussion with him at
the appropriate time.
CHAIR MCGUIRE said the Legislature has to have a firm
understanding of what it is going to take to reform the current
system and that is the reason why she told the governor that it
is important to work together.
CHAIR MCGUIRE added that other areas have been specifically
flagged for Mr. Williams to look at during his review: mentally
ill people that end up in prison, offenders that are
incarcerated under the influence due to drug and or alcohol
addictions, and the disproportionally high incarceration of
Alaska Natives and African Americans.
She noted that she has addressed inmates with mental illness in
the past and specified that the review address the following:
· DOC protocols related to mental health treatment.
· Corrections officer training for mentally ill inmates.
· Dispatcher training regarding mental health check calls as
with the Davon Mosley case and some others.
· Dispatcher recordings for a person that is suffering from a
mental breakdown.
· Inmate mental health diagnosis.
· Inmate medication identification.
· Protocol for inmates receiving medication from a family
member.
· Protocol for a mental health screening once an inmate is
inside.
· Corrections officer training for a firm background in
understanding schizophrenia or bipolar disease and how it
manifests itself.
She said detoxification is another area with a high number of
those that are incarcerated in Alaska suffering from alcohol and
or drug addiction. She asked what the protocols were for taking
care of an individual's health aspects during a substance
related withdrawal when a person is under the influence of a
substance during an arrest.
She pointed out that minority treatment has been flagged in both
the area of the state's First Nations people and African
American citizens. She said she is hopeful that the Pew
Charitable Trusts is going to look at why the Alaska Natives and
African American numbers are disproportionately high when
related to the populations they represent. She added that
another issue relates to staff training on treatment, racial
bias, and profiling of Alaska Natives and African Americans
behind bars.
1:33:55 PM
CHAIR MCGUIRE welcomed Representative Matt Claman,
Representative Bob Lynn, and Representative Neal Foster to the
committee meeting.
She asked when the Judiciary Committee will receive a report.
MR. WILLIAMS replied that he told the governor that an update
will be provided in two to three months. He added that one time
frame caveat pertains to addressing something that materializes
during the review process. He said he knows the governor has
given him the liberty to run things down that are still hanging
out there and he did not want to leave something hanging.
CHAIR MCGUIRE asked Mr. Williams if he would be comfortable
coming back before the Joint Judiciary Committee to present his
report.
MR. WILLIAMS answered yes. He noted that he had spoken with the
governor and he is committed to making sure that the Judiciary
Committee is in on what the review finds. He asserted that he
does not want to submit his report until he gets "to the end of
the day." He reiterated that he welcomes comments and dialog
with committee members and their staff.
CHAIR MCGUIRE thanked Mr. Williams for his testimony. She
thanked the Davon Mosley family for attending the meeting as
well.
1:35:52 PM
SENATOR COGHILL joined committee.
ADJOURNMENT
1:37:18 PM
The meeting was adjourned at 1:37 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| GeorgiaBrief.pdf |
SJUD 8/18/2015 1:00:00 PM |
|
| MississippiBrief.pdf |
SJUD 8/18/2015 1:00:00 PM |
|
| SouthCarolinaBrief.pdf |
SJUD 8/18/2015 1:00:00 PM |
|
| UtahBrief.pdf |
SJUD 8/18/2015 1:00:00 PM |
|
| AK Prison Growth Drivers and Costs for Joint Judiciary Committee hearing 2015_8_18.pdf |
SJUD 8/18/2015 1:00:00 PM |
|
| Senate and House Judiciary Agenda 8_18_2015.docx |
SJUD 8/18/2015 1:00:00 PM |