Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George will not bring criminal charges against a correctional officer at the state’s only women’s prison in South Burlington following an investigation into allegations that included illegal drug activity while on duty.
James Baker, Vermont’s interim corrections commissioner, made that announcement during a press conference Thursday in which he also said that the state is extending its contract for one year with the operator of a privately run prison in Mississippi.
George, in an email following Baker’s press conference, confirmed that she would not be filing criminal charges against Daniel Zorzi, who had worked as a shift supervisor at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, the state’s prison for women.
George also provided a letter she had sent to Baker earlier in the day about the matter.
“As you know, we do not believe there is sufficient evidence, at this time, to prove a criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt,” George wrote.
“If any further information is provided to the Vermont State Police,” George added, “we will review that evidence and re-evaluate the strength of our case.”
Seven Days reported late last year that male correctional officers physically and verbally harassed female inmates, including pursuing sexual relationships with women under the supervision of the state Department of Corrections.
Zorzi was promoted despite reports that he used drugs on the job and provided drugs to prisoners, according to the Seven Days article.
George wrote in her letter Thursday to Baker that the state police report documents multiple “instances of concerning behavior by Mr. Zorzi which undermine the State’s ability to rely on him as a witness going forward.”
While she was unsure of his current employment status with the corrections department, she said she wanted to “make sure it is clear that my office is unwilling to call him as a witness on behalf of the State and will not accept any criminal cases from him going forward.”
George also told Baker to add her letter to Zorzi’s personnel file so any future law enforcement agency that he might apply to will have access to the information.
Baker said he had reviewed the state police investigation and supported George’s decision to not bring criminal charges.
“In reading the report I believe that she got to the right conclusion,” he added.
Baker referred requests for the report to the state police. VTDigger submitted a public records request to the state police late Thursday afternoon.
The corrections commissioner did say an outside investigation by the law firm Downs Rachlin Martin into the allegations raised in the Seven Days article regarding the misconduct and drug abuse among corrections staff remains ongoing.
In addition, the commissioner said, there is a separate internal review being conducted by the state Department of Human Resources.
Baker said Zorzi is not currently working for the corrections department and is on unpaid leave.
Attempts to reach Zorzi on Thursday for comment were not successful.
Baker, who took over as interim corrections commissioner after the Seven Days report, said the department is working to establish a code of conduct for its employees as well as making changes to the hiring process.
“That work has already started,” he said. “I think that has a big part in the cultural issues that we face in the field.”
CoreCivic contract renewal
Earlier in the press conference, Baker said the state has signed onto a one-year renewal for about $6 million of a two-year contract with CoreCivic that would have expired Thursday. There are currently 211 Vermont inmates at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi.
The extension was widely expected despite Baker’s statements this summer that he had lost trust with the company after nearly 185 Vermont inmates, or nearly 85% of the prisoners held at the CoreCivic facility had tested positive for Covid-19.
Baker later said he felt “reassured” about CoreCivic after Vermont corrections officials went to Mississippi for a firsthand look at the treatment provided.
The 185 Vermont inmates at the Mississippi prison have recovered, according to the corrections department.
Many people and organizations, including the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, have called for an end of the practice of sending prisoners out of state. They have cited a drop in the state’s inmate population and have called for more steps to be taken to keep people from going to prison in the first place.
Corrections officials contend that while the population is down at the in-state prison facilities, inmates still need to be sent out of state in order to practice social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic. State prisons also need room to isolate inmates who contract the virus.
Baker said he is establishing a working group in the corrections department to look at ways to stop the practice of sending Vermont prisoners out of state. “It’s going to be a challenge, there is no guarantee,” he said.
Vermont Defender General Matthew Valerio, whose department includes the state’s Prisoners’ Rights Office, said he wasn’t surprised to hear the contract with CoreCivic is being renewed for a year.
While it would be better if Vermont didn’t have to send any prisoners out of state, given the current conditions, including the Covid-19 pandemic, there were few other options, Valerio said.
“Honestly,” he said, “I don’ t think they had any choice.”
