Montgomery WSFA News
February 13, 2006

More on the sudden resignation of prison commissioner Donal Campbell. For three years, Campbell has struggled with overcrowding and funding issues, and now one lawmaker questions the timing of his resignation.

The state's prisons may be filled with people who have problems, but the conditions in which they are living have caused big problems for the prison system for years. "It's dire. It's dire. It's a crisis." That's how state senator Myron Penn (D) Union Springs describes the situation. For years there have been problems with overcrowding, federal court orders, insufficient security and little money. Those can cause enough headaches to make any prison commissioner leave, but are those the reasons Prison Commissioner Donal Campbell is leaving? Penn says "I think the timing of everything dictates our belief that it couldn't be anything other than his resignation was asked for."

Penn is head of a legislative committee that overseas prisons. "We're in the fourth year of the quadrennium and it's during the budgetary process. It certainly is ill timing for the Commissioner of Prisons to resign at this time."

It was just a few years ago when Campbell toured state prisons with the Governor. At that time. the women's prison was under a court order to fix up and relieve overcrowding. "There have been many times when we've had joint legislative prison committee meetings when we'd ask Mr. Campbell what is it that you need? Tell us what you want. How can we help? Let us run the ball for you in the legislature and he would simply say 'Well, you name it.' Well, hey that doesn't help us."

Penn says the problem it seems is Campbell and the Governor can't seem to agree on what needs to be done to fix the prison problems. The Governor though says Campbell's resignation was not forced. "It was more of a mutual understanding that is probably better for the department and also better for him."

The Governor has asked for about $300,000,000 more in his budget for prisons. Campbell asked for about $500,000,00 more. Some observers say the Governor wants to fix the prison problem with reforms while Campbell wants to build another prison.

In the meantime, Campbell is continuing to take action to relieve the prison overcrowding. 140 medium security male inmates were bused to a private prison in Louisiana Monday morning. More are expected to follow. Right now there are about 600 inmates in county jails who have stayed beyond the thirty day limit and are waiting to be sent to state prisons.

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