Prisons chief: Official who beat inmates deserves 2nd chance

By MICHAEL R. SISAK
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The director of the federal Bureau of Prisons is defending her decision to rally behind a high-ranking agency official who climbed the ranks after beating Black inmates, saying Tuesday that she feels he’s shown contrition and deserves a second chance. Colette Peters, making her first comments since the Associated Press published an investigation chronicling Thomas Ray Hinkle’s sordid past and subsequent promotions, said she met with Hinkle soon after starting as director in August and came away convinced that he should keep his job. Peters spoke with the AP after testifying Tuesday before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which has spent months scrutinizing the Bureau of Prisons’ inability to clamp down on rampant staff sexual misconduct.