Three people were up for Department of Corrections job
Gov Katie Hobbs interviewed three people before choosing her director of the troubled agency.
Running a troubled agency like the Arizona Department of Corrections is, I would imagine, not a glamorous job people would ordinarily want given all of the scandals it has been involved with just in the past several years.
But it has a long history of fuckups that extend past the Charles Ryan prison lock scandal. I mean just follow Jimmy Jenkins’ work from KJZZ or Arizona Republic
Jenkins has broken many stories about the agency, and he’s just one reporter in a state with dozens. Imagine how much hasn’t been uncovered from the agency yet.
And that’s not even mentioning recently “retired” Director David Shinn who, according to calendars I was able to obtain, appeared to not really do anything.
Needless to say, it’s definitely a thankless job and Hobbs appointed Ryan Thornell from the Maine Department of Corrections to lead the agency, but he wasn’t her only choice.
Like Ducey before her, when he picked Shinn –– formerly of the Federal Bureau of Prisons –– Hobbs interviewed Department of Corrections deputy director Joe Profiri for the chance to lead the agency. Profiri had worked there a long time, but Hobbs tapped Thornell instead.
Profiri subsequently resigned from the agency and was tapped by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to lead their corrections department. Sanders’ chief of staff is Gretchen Conger, Ducey’s former deputy chief of staff.
The third person Hobbs interviewed for the job was Edward Mize, who appears to work in the Michigan Department of Corrections.