The head of the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield has retired, and the corrections department is looking for the next person to head up the beleaguered facility.
Mike Lyon retired last week from the Vermont Department of Corrections after nearly 30 years in the ranks, according to Isaac Danyo, a corrections department spokesperson.
Danyo said Tuesday that Lyon’s retirement had been planned for some time. Lyon had served as superintendent of the Springfield prison since January 2019, Danyo added.
In April, Lyon was placed on paid leave after a misconduct complaint from within the prison, corrections officials said at that time. One month later, the corrections department reported that an investigation had found that the misconduct allegation was unfounded and Lyon returned to his post at the Springfield prison in May.
Corrections officials have not disclosed the nature of the misconduct allegation, but have said it was not related to the number of deaths — a total of 12 — of incarcerated people at the Springfield facility since January 2022.
Danyo said Tuesday that the investigation earlier this year had nothing to do with Lyon’s retirement. Contact information for Lyon was not available on Tuesday, and attempts to reach him through the corrections department were not successful.
The Springfield prison has been dealing with staffing shortages in recent years and complaints about the medical care provided there. The prison can house up to 370 people in custody and is home to the department’s acute medical, geriatric and psychiatric care units.
A lawsuit pending in federal court in Vermont, brought by Michael Lewis, alleges that while he was incarcerated at the Springfield prison, Lyon ignored his efforts to report that a corrections officer had sexually abused him. Lyon’s attorney has asked the court to dismiss the case.
According to the corrections department, Lyon joined the organization in 1994 as a corrections officer, and rose through the ranks to administrative positions. In addition to the top post at the Springfield prison, Lyon had served as the assistant superintendent at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport and as superintendent of the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland.
In an emailed statement Tuesday, Corrections Commissioner Nicholas Deml called Lyon a “true public servant” whose “legacy is one of leadership and innovation.”
“While superintendent at Southern State,” Deml said, “Mike spearheaded major reforms, including the introduction of a coffee shop run by incarcerated individuals and a self-governing honors unit without locked doors or an officer on duty.”
Michaela Merrill, assistant superintendent of the Springfield prison, has been named the interim superintendent, and a search has been launched for Lyon’s successor, Danyo said.
