Ohio ex-prison director comes back as warden

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

The former director of Ohio’s prisons is returning to the system as a warden.

The Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday Ernie Moore will begin a job July 31 as warden of Lebanon Correctional Institution. Moore was director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction before he was replaced in 2011 by Gary C. Mohr, an appointee of Gov. John Kasich.

Gary Mohr says hiring his predecessor is part of putting “the right people in the right positions.” He said he hopes the 50-year-old Ernie Moore can help cut inmate violence and reduce a pattern of released inmates returning to prison.

Ernie Moore succeeded Terry Collins as state prisons director in January 2010. He’s now head of the Bureau of Parole at the Department of Youth Services.