Being a man with a
common background and uncommon talents, this man was labeled to be a transformational
leader by a former Senate leader and the non-elected governor of the state. It was
clear they chose this man for his uncommon values and his eagerness to bid
their wishes in the manner best suited for greedy and ambitious businessmen and
ranch owners back in the Wild Wild West. It was these qualities along with many more
that attracted the nomination and selection of the man with eight tentacles that
reached far beyond any distance some visionary leaders might have thought they
would through his persistence, tenacity and absolute power methods.
Implementing those
viewpoints of those who selected him as well as his own, this man became a cultural
and ideological radical in the way he shaped Arizona’s prison system pleasing
those who embrace “mass incarceration” methods to bring heavy-handed righteousness
to the criminal justice system. He was most certainly enabled to do this as his
goals and vision were carried on the shoulders of greedy and often proliferating
prosecutors that piled us a record number of convictions within a very short period
of time to fill up our prisons.
It was from the
beginning when he spoke convincingly and smoothly to his agency’s employees
that he was on their side when he obscured his real “hang men” intentions about
changing the prison system in Arizona. Promising fair and ethical hiring,
promotional and assignment practices he turned instead to his primary goal. Once
the dust settled, it was clear he was hired to increase prison beds and procure
additional private prison beds from the corrections corporatists hired by the
governor’s staff to embellish the profit sharing methods of privatizing prisons.
In the end he made it clear which side he was really working for when hired on
to run the Arizona prison system.
A former Abu Ghraib
administrator and acting as a hired gun for the politicians, his tentacles
reach far and cover the state from east to west and north to south. His justification
for doing what he does best, intimidate, control, impose fear and add prison
beds, is based on greed and profit making by those who call the shots in the
governor’s office and legislative body. He has pleased them well and is assured
longevity that will go down in record as one of the longest sitting agency
directors in Arizona prison history.
It was oh so clear whose
side he was on. He has decimated staff morale and working numbers in the rank
and file. He has divided and conquered every aspect of political power or
individualism as well as creativity within the agency and instilled fear and intimidation
among the troops to ensure silence and complete power as well as dominance. His radical management style practices deceit,
cover ups, malpractice and unconventional politics atop of pure sadistic and mean
spirited policy making for both worker and prisoner. How has this man reached
out and changed the culture and found global support along the way one must
ask. Within a short two year span he reshaped Arizona prison policy to attain
complete control over his agency and environment.
His historic achievements
include:
- Reducing staffing to an all time low with the pretense
of streamlining the agency to be more efficient and cost saving to the
state resulting in an increase of staff assaults, prison homicides and
suicides and “natural deaths” assisting those in power through advocating
for more prison related money and future spending.
- Eliminated or revised prison work programs to
increase idleness and reduce productive achievements in general
educational programs, treatment and rehabilitation efforts thereby
ensuring a “revolving door” to maintain the growth of the prison system
within the state.
- Dismantle and replace the state medical and mental
health provider systems and replaced with a private contractor to carry
out arbitrary medical provisions and requirements related to health care
and mental health treatment by mainly eliminating or reducing the number
of patients eligible or identified to be provided basic treatment,
medication and other expensive costs to reduce the state’s burden on providing
medical care and treatment through unaccounted medical practices provided
by law.
- Expanded the use of private prison beds and added
more “medium custody” needs for future acquisitions up to 2016 while
ignoring his internal state owned physical plant maintenance repairs
creating hazardous and dilapidated physical plan and housing unit structures
throughout the state.
- Changed the entire scope, size, and impact of
agency policies and procedures to ensure complete and arbitrary control of
all practices and due process guidelines for both staff and prisoners.
- Divided and conquered organized labor unions or
groups to ensure complete and unilateral control of negotiations,
mediation and resolution conflict management.
- Implemented and maintained a close circle of
executives at the top of his administration that carry out his vision, his
directives and priorities without resistance or question whether it is
legal, practical or even a sound correctional practice. These “circles of
friends” are comprised of former wardens and administrators from the past
who served him well when he was the second in command under Terry Stewart.
- Established complete media control over prison
related stories, demonized the plight of the prisoners to justify the use of
his policies and ignored public sentiment, protests or outcry on future prison
expansion and growth causing a tremendous tax burden on Arizona taxpayers
at the tune of $ 1.1 billion dollars plus.
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