What are you to do? You can't just soldier on alone like the jilted Hogwallop in "O Brother, Where Art Thou." But you can't expect people to line up to take a job that might end in less than a year, either. Especially a job that entails running Alabama's prison system.

Such was Gov. Bob Riley's dilemma following the abrupt resignation of corrections Commissioner Donal Campbell. Riley had to find a successor able to run the state's troubled prison system - and willing to gamble on a Cabinet job for a governor whose job, like "O Brother's" Pappy O'Daniel's, is up for grabs.

Given those realities, Riley gambled a little. He tapped two lawyers with no prison experience to assume the gigantic task of running the Department of Corrections.

Richard Allen, who served as a chief deputy to three attorneys general, will be the new commissioner. Vernon Barnett, who has been Riley's deputy legal adviser and go-to man on prison reform, will serve as chief deputy prison commissioner, a new position.

Riley selected wisely. Allen is a capable and honest administrator who knows the state's political and judicial landscape well, which is vital for the chief of Alabama's oft-sued and always-strapped prisons. He is a team player, but also a former Army officer who knows how to lead.

As part of the Governor's Task Force on Prison Crowding, Barnett has developed a real expertise on the factors underlying much of the correctional system's woes, such as outrageous prison terms for nonviolent offenders. He brings to the table an immense understanding about how the prison system got so crowded and unmanageable.

Of course, it's one thing to know how the prison system got where it is, quite another to get it where it needs to be. Nobody can single-handedly fix Alabama's prisons. But Allen and Barnett have the skills to bring together the many people who will be needed to put the system on better footing.

Already, the governor has laid out a series of mandates about relieving the crowding crisis, resolving lawsuits and bringing the system "into the 21st century." Allen and Barnett are to give Riley a plan in 30 days for what needs to be done and how it can be accomplished, either in coming months or over time.

For all of our sakes, may they perform their jobs well.

Back to News