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The head of the Springfield prison has agreed to temporarily step aside as an audit is conducted on the use of personal protective equipment at the 370-bed facility.

The decision by Southern State Correctional Facility Superintendent Michael Lyon was voluntary, said James Baker, interim corrections commissioner, on Monday. Lyon will temporarily be assigned to a task dealing with the department’s overall response to Covid-19 while the audit is being conducted, Baker said.

Scott Martin, the assistant superintendent of the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, became the acting superintendent in Springfield, the state’s largest prison, as of Monday. Martin is a longtime veteran of the state Department of Corrections.

“There is no discipline involved here. There is no anticipation of discipline involved,” Baker said. “This stepping aside is to make sure that we have an outside set of eyes applied to the way the procedures are being followed in Springfield.”

The move comes days after Baker told reporters during his weekly briefing Thursday that a corrections staff member at Southern State was seen on video during a court proceeding with a mask partially off while in close proximity to an inmate.

That incident happened last week during a multi-day bail review hearing in Windham County. That hearing involved consolidated cases about whether an inmate’s medical condition that made them vulnerable to the coronavirus can be a factor during a bail hearing in determining whether a person should remain held pending a trial. 

Testimony in the case has also centered on whether the corrections department staff is properly following protocols meant to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in Vermont’s prisons and to protect medically vulnerable inmates.

The incident took place as Frank Sanville, 73, an inmate who is a subject of the bail hearing, testified via video from a room inside the Springfield prison.

“It’s a very small space where social distancing is not able to be done,” Baker said. ”During the course of that hearing our staff member appeared on the screen with a face mask that was partially uncovered off their face.”

Baker said Thursday that corrections officials were investigating why that happened.

“I was disappointed when I learned about it,” he said, “because of the many hours and hard work that went into planning our pandemic response and our ongoing work that’s being done every single day to address this.” 

He added that pending the investigation he was not making judgment on what took place.

Baker said that in such a close proximity to an inmate, staff are expected to wear a face mask.

“I don’t know all the circumstances of this,” he said. “I will assure you that if in fact I find out that the act was careless, there’ll be consequences for that and we will deal with it.”

Newport prison chiefs cleared

In December, Martin, as assistant superintendent at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, and Joshua Rutherford, the facility’s superintendent, had been placed on administrative leave after what then-Corrections Commissioner Michael Touchette called a “credible report” in need of further investigation.

At that time, Touchette would not discuss the details of that “credible report.” 

Baker, who took over as interim corrections commissioner in January following Touchette’s resignation, said Monday that investigation was completed a couple of months ago

“Both folks were cleared and returned to work,” Baker said. 

The commissioner said Rutherford has been temporarily assigned to the corrections department central office to work on the department’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Asked for details about the investigation, Baker replied, “It’s a personnel matter. It’s closed, I’m not going to get into personnel matters.” 

Testimony in Windsor County court

On Monday, his first day leading the Springfield prison, Martin testified in the bail hearing. Former Windsor County State’s Attorney David Cahill, who is a prosecutor in the Sanville case, called Martin to testify. 

Cahill, though he has stepped down as the state’s attorney in Windsor County, had told his successor he would assist with the two pending homicide cases, including the Sanville one.

Sanville was charged in March 2018 with murder and other offenses in the fatal shooting of wife, Wanda Sanville, in Royalton. 

Emily Tredeau, an attorney in the Vermont Defender General’s prisoners’ rights office, questioned during the hearing Monday whether the switch in leaders at the Springfield prison was a way to keep Lyon from having to testify about how he oversaw the PPE practices there.

“There isn’t a dispute that the protocol was not followed at that time, right?” Judge John Treadwell said, referring to the incident caught on the video.

“Sure,” Tredeau replied.

Treadwell then allowed Martin to testify, but limited what he could talk about.

“I think the most he can testify to is what his intention is with respect to Southern State,” Treadwell said.

Martin, wearing a mask adorned with footballs, then testified about his intention to follow and implement the protocols. 

VPR reported last week that during the hearing, experts and inmates testified about failings they saw in the carrying out of the corrections department’s Covid-19 protocols as well as the medical care of inmates in the state’s correctional facilities. 

Also, VPR reported, the medical director for Centurion, the company contracted by the state to provide medical services inside the prisons, testified to the safety of the correctional facilities.

Testimony in the hearing concluded Monday and Treadwell said he expected to issue a ruling as soon as possible.

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