Nomination of Wayne Salisbury moves to full Senate vote

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A controversial pick to lead Rhode Island’s prison system will move to a full Senate vote.

In May, Governor Dan McKee announced that he had nominated Wayne Salisbury for the position of Director for the Rhode Island Department of Corrections.

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted overwhelmingly in favor to move Salisbury as Director.

The nomination for a full Senate vote is set to happen tomorrow, June 13.

Salisbury is the current interim director of the department and previously worked as the department’s assistant director, deputy warden, and acting warden, as well as working as warden of the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls.

The Rhode Island Brotherhood for Correctional Officers have criticized the nomination however, as they said in a statement that issues such as fights among inmates and assaults against correctional officers have increased under Salisbury’s tenure as interim director.

The RIBCO said in a statement that there are still “unanswered questions about Salisbury’s integrity.”