Honoring Maurice Sigler

Founding CCA Board Member Passes Away at Age 100

Maurice Sigler, a national corrections expert and a founding Board Member of CCA has passed away at age 100, and CCA honors the life of this compassionate, corrections professional and an admired man.

At CCA's Facility Support Center in Nashville, our employees for years have spent time in the Maurice Sigler Conference Room, where a painting of Maury hangs. Yet not all of our employees know of his esteemed career and meaningful life. Maury rose from the ranks of a correctional officer to become chair of the U.S. Parole Commission but is remembered most as a gentle man who curbed the brutal treatment of prisoners and dedicated time to help youth make right choices to prevent them from going to prison.

Maury's first corrections job was with Federal Bureau of Prisons at Leavenworth. (As the story goes, one evening in 1937 after Maury and Frankie had married, they were sitting home reading in Iowa. Frankie said "They need correctional officers at Leavenworth." Maury asked "What's a correctional officer?" "I don't know, but it pays $155.00 per month...") It took two years for Maury to get his official notification to report to Leavenworth, which he did on May 16, 1939. Neither Maury nor Frankie considered this a career move; just a job to allow them to gain some financial stability before returning to Iowa.

After a duty in the Navy in World War II, Maury returned to FBOP/Leavenworth then transferred Texas to activate a new prison, Seagoville, where he remained for seven years.

Based on problems at Angola prison in Louisiana, Maury was asked by his warden and the FBOP Director to assist with staff training and other challenges at the prison. His initial time at Angola in 1951 was "on loan"; however, he resigned from FBOP to become warden at Angola in October 1952. At that time, there were 81 employees and 2,600 inmates, of which 300 were armed guards, on the 18,000 acre prison farm.

Maury remained at Angola until July 1958, having made incredible changes not only to the physical plant and operation of Angola, but also the criminal justice system and public policy in Louisiana related to the humane treatment of inmates. In a published article he noted that while at Angola, he took away the whips from the correctional staff, helped build a new facility and started a school. His accomplishments are truly what legends are made of.

Maury served as warden of the Nebraska Penitentiary in 1959. As had occurred at Angola, within six years of Maury's arrival, both the culture and the physical plant of the penitentiary had changed dramatically for the better. In his seventh year, Maury was elected President of North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents (NAAWS). In 1967, Maury became the first director of the newly formed Nebraska DOC; however, that position included remaining as warden. In 1970, he presented Nebraska's first master plan, which was adopted by the legislature.

He was appointed by President Nixon to serve on the U.S. Parole Commission in 1971. In attempting to replace Maury, Governor Exxon of Nebraska decided he needed two people.

Maury was the first correctional administrator to be appointed to the US Parole Board. Although he was elected as President of the American Correctional Association while in Nebraska, he assumed that role after moving to Washington, DC. After serving one year, he was appointed Chairman in 1972. By the spring of 1973, Maury submitted his reorganization plan to Attorney General Elliot Richardson who approved it. By 1974 the regional offices were established and the report was published on explicit parole guidelines. In May 1976, the Parole Commission and Reorganization Act became law.

Maury used his tenure as ACA President to win a commitment to establish a formal accreditation process to measure compliance with the national standards.

When Maury retired from the US Parole Board in the fall of 1976, he was not yet finished with his long line of "first's". He joined HDR, an architectural and engineering firm, as a senior design consultant. HDR had worked with him to complete Nebraska's master plan. The move was unique for both Maury and HDR.

It was during the early 1980's that a new concept emerged: private operation of correctional facilities. Maury solicited the input and reaction of his friends and colleagues, most of whom were former wardens and now directors of corrections. Maury and long-time corrections professional Don Hutto (Arkansas Director of Corrections at the time and co-founder of CCA in 1983) met at the 1972 ACA conference.

After agreeing to serve on and chair CCA's Advisory Board, Maury suggested names of other leaders and sought their agreement to serve. He was present in 1984 when CCA opened its first contract facility in Houston. Maury continued to be actively involved with CCA throughout the 1990's, touring facilities and attending wardens' meetings.

His first wife, Francys, died in 1991. He is survived by his wife Anne, three stepchildren, four nephews and a niece. CCA is proud to have been affiliated with a man of such strong convictions toward the humane treatment of human beings and the care and concern for youth. He was a leader who we admire, and who mentored many fine correctional professionals today.
On behalf of our 17,000 corrections professionals, CCA pays tribute to Maurice Sigler and the legend he has left for the United States correctional system.

Portions of this article were written by Sharon Johnson Rion, former CCA warden and president of TransCor, who wrote "Beyond His Time: The Maurice Sigler Story", contributed to this article.

Sound Out

J Leighton at FCC:

I think that we were lucky to have the input and guidance of such an experienced and knowledgeable person. God bless him