Open Letter: Formal Objection to Heidi Washington’s Election as ICPA President — Documented Failures, Deaths in Custody, and Constitutional Litigation

By Paula Kensu

Dear ICPA Board of Directors and Executive Leadership:

I am writing as a Michigan resident and concerned advocate for accountability within the criminal justice system to express my profound concern and strong objection to the International Corrections & Prisons Association’s decision to elect Heidi Washington as its president.

Your October 28, 2026 announcement celebrates Ms. Washington’s nearly three decades of corrections experience and “leadership” of the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC). What it conspicuously fails to acknowledge is the extensive, publicly documented record of serious problems within the prison system she has overseen since 2015.

Experience in a leadership position is not, by itself, evidence of successful leadership. Longevity does not establish accountability, and a prestigious international appointment should not overshadow unresolved questions about conditions, deaths, safety, and constitutional rights under an administrator’s supervision.

As an organization that publicly embraces integrity, transparency, professionalism, humane corrections, and respect for human dignity, ICPA owes its membership and the public an explanation of how Washington’s election was evaluated against those principles.

1. Bipartisan Demands for Washington’s Resignation

In May 2026, more than 30 current and former Michigan lawmakers, including members of both major political parties, called for Washington’s resignation following a succession of deaths and longstanding concerns about conditions throughout Michigan’s prisons.

The May 21 letter, led by State Representative Laurie Pohutsky, followed the deaths of four incarcerated individuals within approximately one month, including Khaira Howard and Rebecca Fackler at Women’s Huron Valley.

United States Congressman Shri Thanedar separately demanded her resignation on May 22, citing deaths, dangerous prison conditions, chronic staffing shortages, and longstanding complaints about the department’s leadership.

These were not isolated objections. In 2024, Representative Sarah Lightner called for Washington’s resignation over the staffing crisis. Michigan House Resolution 310 also formally proposed calling for her resignation, documenting longstanding concerns about officer safety, mandatory overtime, transparency, and staffing.

How does an individual facing repeated public demands for resignation from elected officials become an internationally celebrated leader without those concerns receiving serious, transparent scrutiny?

2. Deaths in Custody and Questions About Medical Care

The deaths at Women’s Huron Valley in 2026 demand attention, particularly the deaths of Khaira Howard and Rebecca Fackler in May and another incarcerated woman in June.

The MDOC’s own public transparency reporting lists five deaths at Women’s Huron Valley in 2026 and six deaths in each of 2023, 2024, and 2025.

The number of deaths alone does not establish wrongdoing. However, the repeated deaths, complaints about medical care, and demands for independent investigation raise serious questions about whether adequate safeguards, emergency responses, staffing, and oversight were in place.

Khaira Howard reportedly died shortly before her scheduled release. News reporting also described conflicting initial information about the circumstances of her death, underscoring the need for reliable investigations and transparent findings.

These were human beings entrusted to the custody and protection of the State of Michigan. Their deaths must not become mere statistics or administrative footnotes.

Before promoting Washington’s leadership record, did ICPA examine the available mortality information, reported medical-care concerns, and status of investigations into deaths occurring during her administration?

3. Federal Constitutional Litigation — Bailey v. Washington

Perhaps most troubling is the October 15, 2026 decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Bailey v. Michigan Department of Corrections, Case No. 25-1608.

In litigation concerning alleged widespread mold exposure and serious health problems at Women’s Huron Valley, the appellate court affirmed the denial of qualified immunity to Washington and eight other MDOC officials at the pleadings stage.

The allegations included years of hazardous environmental conditions, repeated complaints from incarcerated women, substantial health problems, and claims that responsible officials failed to take adequate corrective action.

Importantly, the appellate court specifically discussed allegations that Washington received complaints and correspondence warning of mold-related health problems. It concluded those allegations were sufficient, at that procedural stage, to allow the constitutional claim against her to proceed.

This was not a final finding that Washington violated the Constitution. Nevertheless, it was a significant federal appellate decision addressing allegations of deliberate indifference to serious risks affecting incarcerated women.

Why did ICPA elect Washington president less than two weeks after this decision without publicly addressing such a substantial development?

4. Chronic Staffing Shortages and Dangerous Working Conditions

Michigan’s correctional staffing crisis is not a recent or isolated development.

For years, corrections officers and their representatives have warned of severe staff shortages, mandatory 16-hour shifts, exhaustion, unsafe working conditions, and security positions left unstaffed.

A 2025 state audit of Baraga Correctional Facility documented the consequences of staffing shortages and excessive overtime. An April 2026 Bridge Michigan investigation described worsening vacancies, including vacancy rates exceeding 30 percent at some facilities.

The Michigan Corrections Organization has repeatedly warned that officers are being required to operate facilities despite dangerous staffing deficiencies. In July 2026, the union again publicly criticized the practice of leaving normally staffed prison posts vacant.

These conditions place correctional employees and incarcerated individuals at risk alike.

Corrections leadership must protect both the people employed within prisons and those confined inside them. ICPA should explain how it evaluated Washington’s response to this prolonged staffing and retention crisis.

5. Sexual Abuse and Protection of Vulnerable Prisoners

In April 2026, the Michigan Attorney General announced that a former Women’s Huron Valley corrections officer pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving incarcerated women. The Attorney General reported that the officer had engaged in multiple sexual acts with several prisoners.

The criminal responsibility of that officer should not automatically be attributed to Washington. However, an incident involving exploitation of incarcerated women by an employee raises important institutional questions.

What oversight, reporting safeguards, supervisory practices, and preventive measures were operating within the facility? What changes followed the criminal investigation?

An international organization committed to humane corrections should consider how administrators respond to sexual abuse, particularly in institutions where incarcerated individuals are uniquely vulnerable to exploitation by those exercising authority over them.

6. Legislative Oversight, Medical Neglect Allegations, and Institutional Transparency

In February 2026, Michigan lawmakers heard testimony alleging mold exposure, inadequate health care, drug-related problems, and unsafe conditions at Women’s Huron Valley.

Members of the House Oversight Committee called for additional testimony, independent examinations, and greater accountability.

These concerns did not suddenly emerge in 2026. They followed years of complaints from incarcerated individuals, formerly incarcerated women, families, advocates, and corrections employees.

Although MDOC has published environmental-testing results and announced corrective initiatives, serious disputes remain about whether those measures adequately address the reported problems.

Transparency cannot consist solely of an agency publishing its own explanation. Credible accountability requires independent review, disclosure of relevant findings, meaningful responses to complaints, and protection against retaliation for those who report problems.

7. A Troubling Disconnect Between ICPA’s Values and Its Leadership Decision

ICPA publicly identifies respect for human dignity, integrity, professionalism, and transparency as central organizational principles.

Yet its announcement of Washington’s election emphasizes the size of the system she has administered and the length of her career while omitting the very serious controversies and legal proceedings surrounding that administration.

I recognize that ICPA may have considered Washington’s professional achievements, operational experience, and reform initiatives. Michigan officials have also described efforts to improve recruitment, staffing, medical oversight, environmental testing, and facility conditions.

But an evaluation that recognizes accomplishments must also seriously examine documented failures, unresolved allegations, judicial proceedings, and the experiences of those affected.

There is an enormous difference between having experience administering prisons and demonstrating that those prisons have been administered safely, humanely, and accountably.

I am therefore requesting that ICPA:

1. Publicly disclose what due diligence was conducted before Washington’s election, including whether the May 2026 resignation demands and October 2026 federal appellate decision were reviewed.
2. Explain whether any independent evaluation of her MDOC leadership record was performed.
3. Invite testimony and documentation from formerly incarcerated individuals, affected families, corrections officers, labor representatives, medical-care advocates, and Michigan legislators.
4. Review the available findings concerning deaths in custody, staffing deficiencies, medical-care allegations, sexual abuse prevention, and environmental conditions.
5. Explain how the Board intends to address the appearance of a conflict between ICPA’s human-rights commitments and unresolved concerns involving its newly elected president.
6. Consider an independent review of Washington’s suitability to continue serving as president, with appropriate safeguards against conflicts of interest.
7. Provide a substantive written response identifying what actions ICPA intends to take.

International recognition should follow demonstrated accountability, not substitute for it.

What message does this election send to grieving families, exhausted corrections officers, incarcerated women reporting medical neglect, and the advocates who have spent years attempting to obtain meaningful intervention?

What message does it send when an administrator repeatedly challenged by state lawmakers over prison safety is elevated to international leadership while significant questions remain unanswered?

I am not asking ICPA to presume that every allegation against Washington is true. I am asking your organization to apply the same seriousness, independent scrutiny, and standards of accountability that its own stated mission demands.

The people who have suffered inside Michigan’s correctional facilities deserve to have their concerns examined, not eclipsed by a congratulatory announcement.

Retirement does not erase responsibility. Election to a prestigious position does not resolve unresolved litigation. And international recognition must never become a substitute for examining a public official’s actual record.

I respectfully request a written response from ICPA’s Board addressing these specific concerns and explaining what review, if any, preceded Washington’s election.

Paula Kensu is a Michigan resident and criminal justice accountability advocate. 

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