Flawed Parks Program Lets Rapists Send Women Cards Ousted Prison Chief Says He’s Scapegoat

Prison superintendent Robert Wright has been fired in a flap over an inmate telemarketing program in which four convicted rapists sent Christmas cards to women last month.

Wright, given a two-week termination notice on Wednesday after five years at the prison in this Olympic Peninsula town, said he was being made a scapegoat by superiors in the state Corrections Department.

The notice bars him from entering the prison without an escort and assigns him to his house for his last two weeks on the state payroll.

Wright said the actions were designed to keep him from attending hearings before the House Corrections Committee this week.

Corrections Secretary Joe Lehman said Wednesday he was making changes at Clallam Bay because of problems that included a telemarketing program in which inmates worked for the state parks system. The program director, protected from arbitrary dismissal by civil service provisions, was transferred.

Under the program, citizens phoned an answering machine to request maps and other information. Inmates then checked the messages and prepared the mailings. The system received 160,000 calls a year.

Last month, at least four women received Christmas cards from convicted rapists, according to a report written by deputy secretary Dave Savage and presented to the House panel.

A computerized “paperless system” that was initially envisioned proved unworkable, and callers’ names and addresses wound up being written down and were seen by prisoners, the report said.

Lehman said a lack of adequate screening allowed sex offenders into the program.

Responding to the report, Wright said he merely followed the directives of his superiors in implementing the program.