Georgia

Corrections Commissioner James E. Donald has appointed Dale Herndon as Walker State Prison's new warden.

Herndon will oversee more than 600 male medium-security general population inmates. Walker provides labor for the Georgia Correctional Industries metal fabrication plant and contract details for other state agencies.

“Warden Herndon has proved invaluable with his knowledge and experience within the department,” said Donald. “I look forward to his continued leadership at Walker State Prison.”

Herndon began his career with the Georgia Department of Corrections in 1979 as a correctional officer at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. He became deputy warden there in 1989. Prior to that, he was Walker's deputy warden of security.

He completed the professional management program in criminal justice at Columbus State University in August 2005, and attended the University of Georgia's correctional leadership institute program. Herndon also serves on the Criminal Justice Advisory Board for Northwestern Technical College.

The GADOC is the fifth-largest prison system in the U.S. and is responsible for supervising more than 50,000 state prisoners and 140,000 probationers. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with nearly 15,000 employees.

Maryland

Maryland Division of Correction Commissioner Frank C. Sizer Jr.  chose warden Wendell M. "Pete" France to oversee the Maryland House of Correction in Jessup.

Since last November, France has been warden of Baltimore's Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center, where new inmates are processed and assigned.

He has had a long career in law enforcement, serving as the Baltimore Police Department's commander and chief of detectives in the late 1990s.

The Maryland House of Correction is a maximum-security prison that houses 1,100 inmates, many serving lengthy sentences for violent offenses. The structure was built in 1878, but its poor design makes the facility difficult to manage.