Former corrections commissioner filed lawsuit over firing

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The former commissioner of Kentucky’s prison system has filed a lawsuit over his firing.

WKYT-TV reports James Erwin filed suit Monday against the state Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. The lawsuit says Erwin was fired in February for refusing to terminate two black employees who were under investigation from the Cabinet’s Internal Investigations Bureau. The suit says Erwin had complained that the investigation was mismanaged.

The Justice and Public Safety Cabinet responded in a statement, saying the “false claims are an obvious attempt to distract from the wrongdoing that occurred under Mr. Erwin’s command.”

Erwin had worked at the Department of Corrections since 1985. He had been a warden or deputy warden at four prisons and was named as an administrator in 2007. He became commissioner in 2017.

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Information from: WKYT-TV, http://www.wkyt.com