WA DOC History

Washington State Corrections History Timeline

• Before WA DOC
• 1980s
• 1990s
• 2000s
• 2010s
• 2020s
• See also WA DOC in the News

Before WA DOC

• 1935
  • Board of Prison Terms and Paroles is created, with members selected by gubernatorial appointment
• 1955
  • 1955 Session Laws establish the Department of Institutions, which becomes responsible for adult corrections in Washington State (see also RCW 43.28.020)
• 1970
  • RCW 43.20A.030 transfers oversight of Washington State prisons from the Department of Institutions to the newly created Department of Social and Health Services

1980s

• 1981
  • RCW 72.09.030 establishes and transfers oversight of state prisons to the Washington Department of Corrections (see Legislative Intent RCW 72.09.010)
  • Washington State Governor John Spellman appoints Amos Reed WA DOC Secretary
• 1986
  • Washington State Governor Booth Gardner appoints Chase Riveland WA DOC Secretary

1990s

• 1990
  • Former Washington State Department of Institutions director William R. Conte publishes Is Prison Reform Possible?: The Washington State Experience in the Sixties
• 1997
  • Washington State Governor Gary Locke appoints Joseph D. Lehman WA DOC Secretary
• 1999
  • October – Prisoners at Washington State Penitentiary organize a hunger strike over concerns that WA DOC would take away the right to wear personal clothing (it did, in 2009) and tobacco (also no longer allowed). A prisoner employed in the Walla Walla Community College prison video editing program is infracted and sent to “the hole” for “participating in a group demonstration” and “participating in a hunger strike,” and is charged but not found guilty of “inciting or participating in a riot,” all for a grunge-themed prank: recording Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike” over the top of a WA DOC segment for the prison “joint channel” that aimed to reassure prisoners that personal clothes and tobacco would not be taken away.

2000s

• Early 2000s
  • WA DOC begins using the word “offender” to refer to prisoners
• 2005
  • Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire appoints Harold Clarke WA DOC Secretary
• 2007
  • Harold Clarke resigns as WA DOC Secretary and Eldon Vail returns from retirement to serve as acting Secretary
• 2008
  • Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire appoints Eldon Vail WA DOC Secretary
• 2009
  • WA DOC takes away the right of prisoners to wear personal clothing

2010s

• 2011
  • Monroe Correctional Complex Officer Jayme Biendl is murdered, a tragedy that becomes anecdotally known as “WA DOC’s 9-11.” This event deepens staff fears concerning safety, results in the end of many progressive WA DOC programs for prisoners, and deepens hostilities among stakeholder groups in the state correctional system.
  • Eldon Vail resigns, Governor Gregoire appoints Bernard Warner WA DOC Secretary
• 2015
  • Washington State Governor Jay Inslee appoints Dan Pacholke WA DOC Secretary
  • It is revealed that WA DOC sentencing calculation errors resulted in over 3,000 prisoners being released from prison an average 55 days before their correct release dates over the course of thirteen years
• 2016
  • Sentencing calculation errors debacle becomes fuel for political drama between Republican state legislators and state agency head appointed by Democratic governor, causing partisan support for the creation of an independent corrections ombuds office to shift from Democratic to Republican legislators the following year, and resulting in the Democratic stonewalling of Republican efforts to establish said ombuds office
  • Dan Pacholke resigns as WA DOC Secretary (see resignation letter and letter to Senator Padden)
  • Acting WA DOC Secretary Richard “Dick” Morgan instructs WA DOC staff to phase out the use of the word “offender” for prisoners, to little avail
• 2017
  • Governor Jay Inslee appoints former Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Chief Knowledge Officer Dr. Jody Becker-Green as acting WA DOC Secretary on January 10, 2017
  • Monroe Correctional Complex correctional officer sentenced by Ninth Circuit District Court after FBI sting uncovers contraband smuggling
  • Washington State Governor Jay Inslee appoints Stephen Sinclair WA DOC Secretary on April 25, 2017
  • Partisan efforts to pass legislation for an independent office of corrections ombuds fail
• 2018
  • Bipartisan legislative support succeeds in establishing an independent office of corrections ombuds, seated in the Washington State governor’s office
  • WA DOC retaliates against prisoner Arthur Longworth and volunteer Marc Barrington for activities related to the publication of Longworth’s book Zek (see here for some example cases of documented retaliation in WA DOC and read our guidelines for the public on navigating retaliation in WA DOC)
  • Prisoners at Washington State Penitentiary organize a hunger strike to protest quality and nutritional content of Correctional Industries food (see also WA DOC memo in response to Washington State Penitentiary food strike)
• 2019
  • Law journal article by incarcerated author Jeremiah Bourgeois results in a legislative work session to address WA DOC’s Indeterminate Sentence Review Board’s resistance to acknowledging a Supreme Court ruling on juvenile life without parole (see January 4, 2019 Senate Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee Work Session: Experience in implementing the Miller fix in Washington; Public Hearing: SB 5120, SB 5164, SB 5144)
  • Prisoners at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center organize a food strike to bring awareness to quality of life concerns, to include the quality and nutritional content of Correctional Industries cold bagged breakfasts
  • Prisoners at Clallam Bay Corrections Center sue WA DOC after being retaliated against by the department for holding a food strike to bring awareness to quality of life concerns (see here for some example cases of documented retaliation in WA DOC and read our guidelines for the public on navigating retaliation in WA DOC)