Eastern KY prison leaders removed pending ‘ongoing investigation,’ state records show
The Kentucky Department of Corrections this week confirmed “an ongoing investigation” that led to the removal of its leaders at a medium-security state prison in Eastern Kentucky.
Charles Craig Hughes, 53, who made $98,315 a year as warden of Southeast State Correctional Complex in Floyd County, was fired on Feb. 22, according to state personnel records.
Hughes was named warden of the prison in 2021. He started his career as a correctional officer at Northpoint Training Center in Boyle County in 1999 and worked his way up through the ranks.
Danny Dean McGraw, 52, who made $76,094 annually as the prison’s deputy warden, resigned the same day, state personnel records show. McGraw resigned while under investigation for misconduct allegations, the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet told him in a letter accepting his resignation “with prejudice.”
McGraw was promoted to deputy warden in 2022.
Hughes and McGraw could not be reached for comment this week.
The Department of Corrections would not answer questions from the Herald-Leader about the investigation at the prison, other than to say, in a brief statement, that final action has not yet been taken in the case.
“The warden and deputy warden are no longer with the department due to misconduct they engaged in unrelated to activities involving inmates. As is standard for Department of Corrections leadership, upon learning of the misconduct, swift corrective action was taken and a full investigation is being conducted,” said Morgan Hall, spokeswoman for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, which oversees the department.
Southeast State Correctional Complex is a 111-acre campus with nine buildings in the Wheelwright community of Floyd County that is owned by CoreCivic, a private prison company. It’s leased to the Department of Corrections, which operates it as a state prison. About 600 state inmates are housed there this week.
For now, the prison’s acting warden is Ivan Krow, according to the Department of Corrections.
The Department of Corrections has been dealing with misconduct within its ranks a lot recently.
The Herald-Leader reported last month that over a 16-month period ending in November 2023, the Department of Corrections discovered at least 30 of its employees were involved in inappropriate relationships with prisoners, probationers and parolees under their supervision, according to state internal affairs investigative records.
Three of those employees were at Southeast State Correctional Complex, although none of them were Hughes or McGraw.
At least 14 more state employees were caught smuggling contraband into prisons for inmates, usually drugs, such as suboxone and meth, or taking money from inmates or their relatives in exchange for smuggling.
Less frequent employee problems identified by investigators included racial and sexual harassment; dereliction of duty; excessive force; and abuse of alcohol and illegal drugs. There also were findings of assorted misconduct, such as horseplay on duty, falsifying reports, indecent exposure and sharing confidential information with inmates.
They were punished for misconduct in state prisons. KY’s juvenile justice agency hired them
Herald-Leader investigation: Sex and drug smuggling inside Kentucky prison walls
