Acting prison chief stricken 1st day on job

The new acting corrections commissioner suffered a mild heart attack last Friday, the day he was appointed to take over the troubled prison agency.

James R. Bender, who was named temporary successor to Kathleen Dennehy, will be off the job for about two weeks as he recovers, according to Charles McDonald, spokesman for the Executive Office of Public Safety. In the meantime, Ron Duval, an administrator who has worked for the Department of Correction for 30 years, will serve as acting commissioner.

Dennehy began working for the Bristol County sheriff's department May 1 after being asked to leave by the Patrick administration.

The first woman to lead the agency, Dennehy was appointed by Governor Mitt Romney in 2004 to reform the system after the jailhouse slaying of John Geoghan, a priest at the heart of the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

The department has continued to be plagued by problems, including a rash of prisoner suicides and disclosure that more than a dozen prisoners were held longer than their sentences allowed.

At a State House hearing Tuesday, lawmakers asked prison officials what steps they are taking to prevent further deaths.

Officials pledged to improve services for mentally ill prisoners, but acknowledged that the changes would cost millions and that the money has not yet been approved.