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WILKES-BARRE — In a video of last week’s public hearing on the closure of State Correctional Institution at Retreat, Pennsylvania Secretary of Corrections John E. Wetzel tells a colleague that he “wished he didn’t have to close this (expletive).”
The video was posted by state Rep. Gerald Mullery on his Facebook page and the language has caused an uproar.
Here’s how Mullery’s post described what Wetzel said:
“PA Dept. of Corrections Secretary John E. Wetzel at the Oct. 17 public hearing regarding closure of SCI Retreat, ‘You know what? This does suck. I wish I didn’t have to close this (expletive). It is what it is.’”
Added Mullery: “You’re right John, this does suck. Do something about it! Tell Governor Wolf to keep SCI Retreat open!”
Mullery, D-Newport Township, and Sens. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, and Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, have all condemned the video, the language and the message.
“What more needs to be said,” Mullery said Thursday. “My feeling on the video is a feeling of sadness for the employees of SCI Retreat and everyone else affected by the closure.”
Mullery went on to say that at last week’s public hearing regarding the closure of SCI-Retreat, people provided heartfelt testimony.
“It appears that was an effort in vain,” Mullery said. “We passed legislation a few years ago to mandate a process to be followed for closure of a state correctional institution. We didn’t do that so that it would be conducted as a folly. We expected that if a decision was made to close a facility, it would be taken seriously and a the testimony would be listened to earnestly.”
Mullery said the administration of Gov. Tom Wolf, through its corrections secretary, failed to adhere to that policy and procedure.
“It appears that the decisions to close SCI-Retreat and White Haven (State) Center were unilateral by this administration without consideration of any stakeholder input.”
In the wake of the video’s released with Wetzel’s comments during last week’s hearing on the proposed closure of SCI Retreat, Yudichak and Baker are continuing to push for transparency regarding the decision-making process that has led to the proposed closure of SCI-Retreat.
“Making a predisposed decision based on ideology rather than the criteria listed under Act 133 of 2018 is a serious breach of the public’s trust and erodes the legislative confidence in the administration of our prison system in Pennsylvania,” Yudichak said.
Yudichak said he hopes the Wolf administration and the Department of Corrections are taking the requirements of Act 133 very seriously and that he awaits an extensive authentic written report on how the closing of SCI-Retreat will impact public safety, and the impact on the local economy, the loss of local tax revenue and the feasibility of repurposing the facility.
”Until the Department of Corrections can justify the closure based against the cost analysis requirements of Act 133, SCI-Retreat should not be closed,” Yudichak said. “As always, Sen. Baker and I will continue to work in a bipartisan fashion to ensure the Administration is accountable to the Act 133 process, listens to the voices of Luzerne County, and bases any closure on facts not ideology.”
Baker said the hearing process was put in place for a very important reason, and that is to ensure these types of decisions are made with sufficient consideration for the economic impact to the community, for the workers, and for the people in these institutions.
“More often than not, these decisions are made strictly with finances in mind,” Baker said. “By listening to those impacted, decision makers are forced to see some of the inconvenient facts involved. Just this week the secretary acknowledged that prior to the hearing he was not aware of the effect a closure could have on the sewer authority, and that he understood the obligation involved, so hearing these comments is certainly disappointing.”
Efforts to reach the Wolf administration for comment were not immediately successful.