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Ombudsman for Prisons Is Named by Minnesota [1]

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Date: 1972-08-14

ST. PAUL, Aug. 13—“I got real gripe,” began a recent letter to Theatrice Williams. “Please see me next time you're up.” The letter did not specify the nature of the gripe but Mr. Williams dashed off a quick note and assured the man— an inmate at the state peni tentiary in Stillwater—that his problem would be carefully investigated.

On July 10 Mr. Williams assumed an unusual position, relatively new to penology‐ that of. State of Minnesota ombudsman for correction. As such, he provides inmates at each of the state's nine correc tional facilities a channel for complaints of loss of right or mistreatment.

While the ombudsman con cept has been tried elsewhere, its success has been minimal since the office has carried little authority or was part of the department of corrections and could not earn inmates'; confidence.

“But ours is an office with teeth,” said David Fogel, Com missioner of Corrections, who instigated the proposal for the ombudsman here. “It will pro vide some checks and balances against abuses within the cor rections system and while not a panacea, it is definitely es sential in dealing with inmate grievances.”

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[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/1972/08/14/archives/ombudsman-for-prisons-is-named-by-minnesota.html

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