SMYRNA — It's fair to say that if inmate Scott A. Miller had been housed in maximum security at the Delaware Correctional Center near Smyrna on July 12, he would not have had the freedom to abduct and rape prison counselor Cassandra Arnold.
But Miller, a serial rapist serving 699 years for numerous assaults against women, was not in maximum security. He was classified to medium security.
That gave him access to other inmates and staff in Delaware's largest prison.
Anthony J. Rendina is classification administrator for the Delaware Department of Correction. In an interview Thursday with the Delaware State News, Mr. Rendina said he reviewed Miller's record.
He said he determined — based on DOC's point-based classification system — Miller was at the correct security level on July 12.
"I reviewed Mr. Miller's classification records. There were no errors," Mr. Rendina said. "Although I was not actively involved in making those decisions, there was nothing significant that would have caused anyone to act any differently than they did.
"There were no significant lapses of judgment or decision-making in any way."
Miller was shot and killed by a correctional officer after he held Ms. Arnold hostage for nearly seven hours, raping her only moments before he was killed.
Jeffrey K. Martin, an attorney representing Ms. Arnold in a federal lawsuit she filed against the state after her ordeal, disagrees.
"I think there must be something wrong when a serial rapist sentenced to 699 years in prison is able to freely walk around the facility," Mr. Martin said.
"I question the process they use to determine higher or lower security levels.
"Is it based on (an inmate's) performance within the prison system and the heinous crimes they've been sentenced for?
"In Miller's case, he had numerous violations within the prison. I don't understand why those infractions didn't raise a red flag."
Allocating ‘points'
Delaware, as do many states, uses a "point-based" classification system that assigns points to each inmate for determining risk assessment and what security level is most appropriate.
Various factors, such as severity of the crimes committed, prior criminal records, escape attempts, mental health and infractions within the facility are taken into consideration.
Risk assessments, compiled by security and treatment personnel, are re-evaluated on a regular basis and can change upward or downward depending on the inmate's behavior in the facility.
Total point scores are used to decide in which of four security categories an inmate should be housed: community-minimum, minimum, medium and maximum.
DCC also separates inmates in medium security into two levels: medium-high security and medium-low security.
The higher the point total, the more likely the offender will be placed in a more secure setting. With good behavior and successful completion of certain treatment programs, a score can be lowered to include placement with more freedom and privileges.
Miller, who moved from maximum to medium security during his stay at DCC, was housed in medium-high security when he accosted Ms. Arnold.
Security guideline
Mr. Rendina said the point-based classification system went into effect at DOC in 2002.
"The old system utilized basically the same information we use now," he said. "Now we're more standardized. The information is essentially the same. We just changed the way we document it.
"It provides us with the ability to more accurately assess our inmate population. It gives us a guideline to determine what security level to use for the offender."
Although final scores are used to determine the security level an inmate is assigned to, Mr. Rendina said multi-disciplinary teams, composed of a counselor and classification officer, can recommend an "override" to a particular classification if they become aware of other factors, such as a pending disciplinary action.
Overrides also can come from a classification committee made up of security and treatment personnel.
On March 19, Miller's multi-disciplinary team recommended he be moved from medium-high security to medium-low security, based on his improving risk assessment score.
But a review by the classification committee revealed he had recently been written up for disorderly or threatening behavior directed at security staff.
Based on that information, the committee "overrode" the team's recommendation that would have moved Miller to even less secure housing.
Is it working?
Mr. Rendina backed off of saying whether or not he believes DOC's classification system is working as it should or whether improvements could be made.
He noted that after the July 12 incident, Correction Commissioner Stanley W. Taylor asked the National Institute of Corrections in the U.S. Department of Justice to review Delaware's system to determine its validity and reliability.
"There's going to be an outside review of the classification system," he said. "The experts will decide the appropriateness of our system.
"The National Institute of Corrections is viewed as the experts. They will provide a report of what the system has accomplished and what it should accomplish."
Mr. Martin questioned just how reliable the system is.
He said he knows of at least one other high-profile inmate serving a life sentence who has been housed in DCC's medium-high security unit.
"Donald Flagg, who kidnapped and raped a woman after shooting her husband to death, was there," he said. "I know that at least at one point last year Donald Flagg was in the MHU. I certainly question that placement, too."
Meanwhile, a prison task force created by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner is reviewing the July 12 incident involving Miller. A report with recommendations for improving security at DCC is due by Jan. 31.
Mr. Rendina said the panel has not been in contact with him for information on DOC's inmate classification system.
Task force members Brian D. Shirey and Rebecca Batson Kidner are reviewing DOC policies and procedures for the Jan. 31 report. They said Friday that they would seek input from Mr. Rendina.
‘Hindsight bias?'
Dr. Kirk Heilbrun, a forensic psychologist who heads the psychology department at Drexel University in Philadelphia, has written extensively on criminal sentencing and violence risk assessment.
He said many states use classification systems similar to Delaware's, targeted to specific needs, with assistance from the National Institute of Corrections.
Dr. Heilbrun said critics should be careful when analyzing the July 12 incident.
"In retrospect there's something called ‘hindsight bias,'" he said. "You can always find something to pick apart after the fact. It's pretty easy to say (Miller) should have been in a higher security setting."
Dr. Heilbrun said the average citizen may not fully comprehend the culture of prisons and some of the factors deemed necessary to incarcerate large populations of offenders.
"Do we know how many (offenders) are involved in lesser incidents?" he asked. "The reality is that prisons are set up to handle people differently than they are handled in the community."
Dr. Heilbrum said he understands it may be hard for lay people to comprehend why an inmate like Miller — sentenced to 699 years in prison for multiple, vicious attacks on women — deserves anything but the most restrictive confinement available.
"People ask, ‘How much effort should we put into rehabilitating lifers like this guy?'" Dr. Heilbrun said. "I think there are a number of considerations.
"What if his case gets overturned? What kind of influence does he have on others who will get out of prison some day? I think you have to look at the benefits, too."
Dr. Heilbrun said in-prison treatment programs, like the stress management class Miller attended before he accosted Ms. Arnold, can be beneficial to offenders serving life sentences.
He said that if these inmates are motivated to develop more positive attitudes about their lives and their relationships within prison walls, the overall result can have a positive effect on security and other concerns.
"I think treatment is a factor and a real consideration," Dr. Heilbrun said. "I think point-based classification systems, where various factors are taken into consideration, seem to be working in a general sense.
"But sometimes, when you have a horrendous case like this, there may be a tendency to scrap it. Overall, these types on incidents happen pretty rarely, but that does not diminish how horrendous they are."
Mr. Rendina said he thinks the point-based system works because it helps standardize the placement process and removes misconceptions and perhaps personal bias.
"With the point-based system the offender receives a score," he said. "However, that score is not the final say in the matter. It serves as a guideline, which will then be considered by various committees. I think we have to remember we're dealing with human beings and the human element is important.
"A lot of the staff here has been around a lot of years. They know the offenders."
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Senior writer Tom Eldred can be reached at 741-8212
or teldred@newszap.com.
Reprinted with permission from newszap.com
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