JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Republican Gov.-elect Eric Greitens is appointing a North Carolina corrections official to lead Missouri’s Department of Corrections.
Greitens announced his pick Wednesday of North Carolina community supervision Director Anne Precythe.
The Senate must confirm her appointment.
Current Missouri prisons chief George Lombardi had applied to stay on when Greitens assumes office in January, but later withdrew his application.
His decision followed criticism after alternative weekly paper The Pitch first reported that Missouri between 2012 and 2016 spent more than $7.5 million on settlements and judgments related to those alleging harassment and retaliation in the department.
Greitens says the state corrections department is broken and there’s a culture of harassment.
He says he hopes for change under Precythe’s leadership. Her appointment is his first cabinet announcement.
