Federal report due Monday on slaying of corrections officer at Monroe prison

Published 12:01 am Sunday, March 20, 2011

MONROE — As one investigation into operations at the Monroe prison wraps up, another is set to begin.

Gov. Chris Gregoire plans to be at the Monroe Correctional Complex on Monday to discuss findings from a federal report she ordered after state corrections officer Jayme Biendl was strangled Jan. 29 while she worked alone in the Washington State Reformatory chapel.

Convicted rapist Byron Scherf, 52, is charged with aggravated first-degree murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.

An internal investigation into what happened that night could begin in the next two weeks, Monroe Correctional Complex Superintendent Scott Frakes said Friday.

“There are answers that need to be determined and questions that remain,” Frakes said.

The internal investigation will be done by leaders from three other prisons across the state.

“It’s never done in a ‘got ya’ manner,” Frakes said. “It is an in-depth and critical assessment of what occurred and what needs to be fixed. It’s not really to figure out if staff broke the rules or made errors that could be seen as disciplinary issues.”

But what if people made mistakes that contributed to the tragedy?

“If through all of this we find that someone willfully broke the rules then there would be a separate investigation,” Frakes said. “I don’t have any sense today that any staff member willfully broke the rules.”

On Monday, the governor plans to brief reporters about findings by a team of investigators from the National Institute of Corrections.

A three-member team from the federal agency, an arm of the Department of Justice, spent a week at the Monroe prison. The experts reviewed policies and procedures, staffing levels and the Department of Corrections’ inmate classification system, which determines an offender’s custody level.

Scherf has a long history of violent crimes against women. He was classified as medium security despite being sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. The move came about a year after a corrections department risk assessment of Scherf found he posed a particular risk to female staff and “should always be seen as potentially predatory and dangerous.”

Frakes said he has not seen the report, but he expects it will identify issues about the prison procedures and policies in place the night Biendl was killed. He also anticipates the report will raise issues about staff accountability and about how inmates are moved around the prison.

Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail said earlier that he, too, expects recommendations will touch on issues identified by corrections officers, including whether more cameras are needed and if officers should be issued personal body alarms.

The federal report is one of several investigations expected in Biendl’s death. A criminal investigation led to charges against Scherf. There’s also an ongoing investigation by the state Department of Labor and Industries, which will determine whether state workplace safety laws were violated. If labor officials find something wrong, they can issue citations and fines.

The corrections department internal investigation will be run by three superintendents and associate superintendents from other prisons in Washington. All understand the state’s prison system, but none has worked at Monroe, Vail said earlier.

Scherf allegedly has admitted killing Biendl while she worked alone at the prison chapel, a place where he had volunteered for years. One of his attorneys has entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Prosecutors allege Scherf waited for everyone else to leave before he attacked.

The chapel remains closed, even though detectives no longer need it for their crime scene investigation.

“I am going to keep it closed until we are absolutely sure that there isn’t another issue” in terms of investigations, Frakes said. “I think we will start talking about the future of the chapel this summer.”

For now, religious services have taken place in a program and activities building.

That’s one of the changes put in place since Biendl’s death.

Frakes also has cut inmates visiting hours. The reduction will remain in place at least through June 30.

It’s part of what Frakes calls “the new normal” at the prison.

Relatives will now get roughly two hours each visit. Previously, they could spend up to seven hours visiting on a given day.

“We really need to take a hard look at are we leaving enough staff in place to adequately supervise what we are doing,” Frakes said.

That means making sure that there are enough staff free when corrections officers take their legally mandated 30-minute unpaid breaks midway through their shifts, Frakes said.

Frakes discussed the changes Thursday night with about 75 friends and family members of inmates. Administrators also met with eight reformatory inmates Friday to discuss prison issues, including visitation and additional access to programs and showers that were cut during a lockdown after Biendl’s slaying. The inmates are “tier representatives,” who are appointed to represent fellow prisoners in their living units.

Rachel Luther, whose husband is serving time at Monroe, said the changes will be hard on inmates and their families.

Inmates at Monroe earned their medium and minimum security status through good behavior, she said.

“They rely on those visits so much,” she said. “It means so much to them.”

Many families travel for several hours to get to the prison.

For now, the changes are necessary, Frakes said.

“I certainly do understand the issue of a long drive and a short visit, especially with the issue of $4-a-gallon gas,” Frakes said.

Rikki King contributed to this story.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.