House Speaker Jake Flake and Senate President Ken Bennett say they have selected Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley to head an investigation of the 15-day hostage standoff at Lewis Prison Complex.

Mr. Romley selected former U.S. Attorney A. Melvin McDonald to conduct the investigation. Other members of the panel had not been announced as of Feb. 12.

Mr. Romley’s office is already conducting a criminal investigation of the prison standoff, but Mr. Flake said that should not create any problems.

“I don’t see any conflict,” he said. “In fact, I think it will only add to the investigation. He [Romley] has the resources, and I think it will expedite this.”

The Governor’s plan has three approaches: a criminal investigation by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office; an administrative review; and a blue-ribbon panel that will examine broader issues.

The administrative review panel will reconstruct the of events at the Morey Unit of the Sam Lewis facility beginning at approximately 3 a.m. on Jan. 18 and continuing through the release of the second hostage Feb. 1. The panel is being asked to identify issues and recommend practices to improve security and staff safety. Panel members include:

• Roberto VillaseÑor, assistant chief and field services bureau commander, Tucson Police Department

• John Phelps, deputy director, Arizona Office of Homeland Security, Arizona Division of Emergency Management

• Mike Smirak, division director, Arizona Department of Corrections.

Meanwhile, Ms. Napolitano’s blue-ribbon panel started with a tour of the facility and testimony from Dora Schriro, Department of Corrections director, on staffing problems at the complex.

The panel is scheduled to have a preliminary report by March 4. Hearings are scheduled for Tucson on Feb. 13 and Phoenix on Feb. 25.

Grant Woods, a former attorney general who is one of three panel co-chairmen, told the Associated Press, “The goal in all this is to do all we can so officers aren’t in that position again.”

Other co-chairmen are Dennis Burke, Governor Napolitano’s chief of staff, and Herb Guenther, director of the Department of Water Resources and a former senator who was chairman of the Joint Select Committee on Corrections.

Other members of the blue-ribbon panel are:

• Tom Stickrath, Deputy Director, Ohio Department of Corrections

• Chase Riveland, a corrections expert who has served as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections; Secretary of the Washington State Department of Corrections; and Deputy Director of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections correctional systems

• Roger Vanderpool, Sheriff of Pinal County

• Mike Branham, Executive Director, Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, Acting Director of the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections

• Leesa Morrison, Arizona Director of Liquor Control and Licensing and a former state prosecutor

• John Cohen, homeland security consultant and tactical expert who is a former investigator for the United States House Judiciary Committee and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and has served as a member of SWAT teams in Los Angeles County and for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

In addition, the United States Department of Justice will assign an Assistant U.S. Attorney to the panel.

The Governor’s office is also enlisting the help of a media ethics expert to review public information management during and after the crisis, her office announced on Feb. 10.

Director Details Staffing Woes

The standoff started Jan. 18 when two inmates gained access to the watchtower of the Morey Unit at the prison and took the two corrections officers in the tower hostage.

During a Feb. 11 presentation to the panel, Ms. Schriro gave an overview on staffing and overcrowding and acknowledged that the Lewis complex has fewer senior officers and supervisors than other facilities in the system, but she would not speculate on whether that played a role in the situation.

William Gaspar, the Lewis complex warden, told panel members that 20 corrections officers were on duty in the Morey Unit when the incident started and that 14 of them had been hired during 2003.

He said the complex has 190 staff vacancies, which constitute 19 per cent of the allotted staff.

Ms. Schriro attempted to defuse some of the enthusiasm for a legislative investigation by suggesting a meeting of the Joint Select Committee on Corrections, at which she would provide details on the current investigation.

Rep. Phil Hanson, R-Dist. 9, who is currently the committee’s chairman, said the meeting sounded like a good idea.

“We would certainly appreciate any input,” he said.

Two committee members – Rep. Jim Carruthers, R-Dist. 24, and Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Dist. 5 – agreed.

But, Mr. Flake and Mr. Bennett said they felt the Legislature had an obligation to conduct its own investigation.

“We have a responsibility to do it,” said Mr. Flake.

They said a joint bipartisan committee would be selected to study the report from the governor’s investigation and Romley’s investigation.

“We want to hear what both the governor and the county attorney come up with,” said Mr. Flake. “If we feel further investigation is needed, we will do that.”

Mr. Bennett said the result of the investigation probably would be considered in the Senate confirmation process for Ms. Schriro. He said it would not be fair to her to completely focus on the hostage situation, but that it would be a factor.

“We need to consider all things,” said Mr. Bennett.

At her weekly media briefing on Feb. 10, Ms. Napolitano said she hoped the legislators would put any legislative investigation on hold for a while.

“I would hope that the Legislature would take a step back and let the panel do its job,” she said. “If we need any follow-up, we can do it. What is the value-added of piling another one [investigation] on≠”

The two inmates are Ricky Wassenaar, who is serving 28 years for armed robbery and assault, and Steven Coy, who is serving a life sentence for a crime spree that included armed robbery, aggravated assault and rape. —